Govt issues new discharge policy for Covid patients | Fusion - WeRIndia

The central government issued a revised discharged policy yesterday for COVID-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms.

As per these guidelines, patients with mild symptoms will be discharged after seven days of testing positive. However, to get discharged, they shall not experience symptoms like fever for three consecutive days. These patients need not undergo COVID-19 testing again to get discharged.

Patients with moderate symptoms will be discharged on the advice of their doctors if they meet the following criteria:  If their symptoms are resolved and their oxygen levels are maintained at above 93% for three consecutive days, they will be discharged.

If their symptoms do not resolve and they need oxygen support, they will be in the hospital until their oxygen saturation levels are maintained at the prescribed level for three consecutive days. If they have any co-morbidities, these symptoms have to be stable before their discharge.

Earlier this week, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued the latest guidelines on the testing of contacts of persons infected with COVID-19.

As per these guidelines, contacts of infected persons need not go for COVID-19 testing if they are not at high-risk. Senior citizens aged above 60 years and people with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease etc., fall under the at-risk category. So far, all contacts of people infected with COVID-19 have to undergo COVID-19 testing.

ICMR guidelines also waived off COVID-19 testing for individuals travelling between states. In other words, people undertaking inter-state domestic travel need not undergo COVID-19 testing.

The guidelines also exempted asymptomatic individuals in community settings from the COVID-19 test. Also, patients under home isolation as per home isolation guidelines after the prescribed period do not require the test.

People who have symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, loss of smell or taste, breathlessness and any other respiratory symptoms need to be tested as per these guidelines.

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