BENGALURU: Patients admitted to a care facility or those in isolation at home with a mild case of Covid-19 can be discharged seven days after they test positive.
These patients should have no fever for three days in a row and do not require testing before discharge, a revised discharge policy issued by the Union ministry of health and family welfare states.
As per the guidelines, patients with moderate symptoms can be discharged without prior testing or advice of a treatment medical officer when their symptoms resolve. They should have blood saturation above 93% for three successive days.
For moderate cases admitted to dedicated Covid-19 health centres, the policy states that patients on oxygen, whose signs and symptoms do not resolve and the demand for oxygen therapy continues, could be discharged as per advice of the treating medical officer, but only after: “. . . resolution of clinical symptoms, ability to maintain prescribed oxygen saturation for three successive days without oxygen support and stable comorbidities, if any”.
For severe cases, including immunocompromised (HIV patients, transplant recipients, malignancy etc. ) patients, the guidelines state that the discharge criteria will be based on clinical recovery at the discretion of the treating medical officer.
“Post-discharge, patients are advised to self-monitor their health for a further seven days and shall continue wearing masks. Post-discharge, if the patient develops any symptoms of fever, cough or breathing difficulty or s/he continues to experience residual/sustained symptoms, s/he shall contact the treating doctor for further clinical guidance or contact the state/district control room helpline or 1075,” the ministry guidelines state.
