National Testing Guidelines for COVID-19 in Nepal

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

1. All symptomatic cases (fever or cough or shortness of breath or loss of taste or loss of smell or diarrhoea)
2. All contacts with confirmed cases
3. All patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)
4. All returnees (Ground crossing: at PoE; Air route: at quarantine within 5-7 days of arrival)
5. All frontline healthcare workers and other frontline workers
6. All individuals with history of travel to COVID-19 transmission areas during the last 14 days
7. All ICU cases
8. Any individual with underlying chronic conditions, immunocompromised conditions, especially for individuals >60 years age
9. Pre-operative cases based on clinical judgement (but for emergency procedures/surgery do not wait for report)
10. 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).