Private hospitals in Mumbai can conduct rapid antigen tests (RATs) on walk-in serious patients having influenza-like symptoms, but the same can not be done on asymptomatic persons, the city civic body has said. RAT, considered a quick and cheap way to discover coronavirus, detects the presence of viral proteins in a sample from the respiratory tract of a person.

According to new guidelines of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued on April 5, without permission from the local authorities, no hospital can start rapid antigen tests for detection of coronavirus in its premises."RAT shall not be done for any asymptomatic walk-in persons," the BMC said. The guidelines said it has been observed that some private hospitals were carrying out RATs without permission from the local authorities or through the ICMR-approved laboratories.