The Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday said coronavirus testing should be widely available to all symptomatic individuals across the country.

“Since test, track and treat is the only way to prevent spread of infection and save lives, it is imperative that testing should be made widely available to all symptomatic individuals in every part of the country and contact tracing mechanisms for containment of infection are further strengthened,” the ICMR said in an advisory.

The health research body also advised authorities to help all government and private hospitals, and public sector units, among others, to conduct antibody-based coronavirus tests to allay concerns frontline health care workers.

The ICMR further recommended using rapid antigen detection tests in combination with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction – or RT-PCR test – in all containment zones, all central and state government medical colleges and government hospitals, IANS reported. “It is imperative to explore the existing antigen-based assays as point-of-care tests for early detection of SARS-CoV-2,” the advisory said.

It added that symptomatic individuals who test negative on the rapid antigen test should be definitely tested sequentially by RT-PCR to rule out the infection, whereas a positive test need not be confirmed again.

The country’s nodal body for coronavirus testing encouraged manufacturers of all antigen-based tests to approach it for validation to improve testing in the country.

India recorded 15,968 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday morning, taking the tally to 4,56,183, according to the health ministry figures. The toll rose to 14,476 with 465 new deaths.

Follow today’s live updates on the coronavirus pandemic.