National Testing Guidelines for COVID-19, Nepal (Version 3, 2077/04/14)
Testing Methods
- For diagnostic purpose RT-PCR and antigen based rapid diagnostic test will be used.
- For surveillance / research purpose serology test will be used.
Criteria For Testing
- All symptomatic cases (fever or cough or shortness of breath or loss of taste or loss of smell or diarrhoea)
- All contacts with confirmed cases
- All patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)
- All returnees (Ground crossing: at PoE; Air route: at quarantine within 5-7 days of arrival)
- All frontline healthcare workers and other frontline workers
- All individuals with history of travel to COVID-19 transmission areas during the last 14 days
- All ICU cases
- Any individual with underlying chronic conditions, immunocompromised conditions, especially for individuals >60 years age
- Pre-operative cases based on clinical judgement (but for emergency procedures/surgery do not wait for report)
- For discharge of moderate/severe/critical cases of COVID-19- based on clinical judgment but test is not required for asymptomatic/mild cases who have completed 14 days (at least 3 days without symptoms).
Related: National Testing Guidelines for COVID-19
National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL)
Related
Essential readings
- List of Laboratories for SARS CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test in Nepal
- List of Laboratories for COVID19 testing in Nepal (RT-PCR)
- List of COVID-19 Hospitals (COVID-19 Care Units) in Nepal
- National Testing-Guidelines for COVID-19 (Version 5), Nepal (Latest)
- List of Certified COVID-19 Antigen kits in Nepal