COVID19: Only severe cases to be tested before discharge

Revising the discharge guidelines for Coronavirus disease(COVID-19) patients, the Union health ministry on Friday informed that onlypatients who had developed a severe illness or have compromised immunity totest negative through a swab test before they are allowed to leave the hospitalor a care centre.

According to the ministry, the other category ofpatients, including very mild, mild, pre-symptomatic and moderate cases neednot be tested before discharge.

It may be mentioned here that earlier, a laboratory confirmed case had to be tested on day 14 once and then again in a span of 24 hours – if both the results are negative then the patient is fit to be discharged from the health care facility.

The revised discharge policy is aligned with guidelineson the 3-tier COVID-19 health facilities and the categorization of patientsbased on clinical severity — mild, moderate and severe.