COVID-19 testing facts
1. ANY testing for the virus causing COVID-19 is only valid for the time at which the test is taken, a person testing negative can go home and be infected soon after taking the test. This person will then take five to 14 days to exhibit any symptoms.
2. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend the use of the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits for diagnosis. In its communiqué of April 8, 2020, it states the following:
At present, based on current evidence, WHO recommends the use of these new point-of-care immunodiagnostic tests only in research settings. They should not be used in any other setting, including for clinical decisionmaking, until evidence supporting use for specific indications is available.
All laboratory companies selling RDT test kits should state very clearly that the use of the test kits is for research purposes and not for diagnosis of active COVID-19 infection.
3. The WHO does not have an approved list of RDT kits for diagnosis of clinical coronavirus and infected people who can transmit the disease. The regional and international professional medical associations all recommend that RDT kits are only used for research purposes. The issue of the statement “WHO prequalified” for approved test kits for clinical detection does not exist.
4. Currently, the only guidelines covering the possibility of a person who can infect another person are:
• Someone exhibiting symptoms eg, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, fever, runny nose, sore throat, body weakness and pain, peculiar rashes, diarrhoea / nausea
• A positive polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) taken from a swab from either the nose or the throat.
• Pre-symptomatic “carriers” who will not yet test positive on an RDT
5. The only effective way of screening people to limit the transmission of COVID-19 is by regular non-contact thermal screening (infra-red thermometer), regular health questionnaires including travel history and history of potential contacts, and then referring for further PCR testing if warranted. Remember that people are at risk of exposure everyday, and a negative test is only valid for the time at which it was taken.
6. The most effective ways of limiting transmission is adopting personal and workplace-enhanced hygiene measures, regular hand washing, alcoholbased hand sanitising, no touching of the face, surface sanitising and physical distancing, and the wearing of masks appropriately.
Continuous COVID-19 hygiene health education and peer support encourages adherence. Isolate suspicious cases until proven disease-free and safeguard against stigmatisation.