Govt revises discharge rules for Covid-19 patients: All you need to know
At the time of discharge, patient will be advised to follow home isolation for seven days as per the guidelinesCases clinically classified as 'moderate' will undergo monitoring of body temperature and oxygen saturation
The Union Health Ministry has revised discharge rules for patients suffering from coronavirus infecion. According to the policy, coronavirus infected patients developing severe illness will have to test negative through RT-PCR test before being discharged by a hospital. Moderate cases of COVID-19 and pre-symptomatic, mild and very mild cases need not undergo tests before being discharged after resolution of symptoms.
The health ministry shared a three-tier discharge policy with guidelines and instructions to be followed before, during, and after the discharge of coronvirus patients.
Mild/very mild/pre-symptomatic cases
Mild/very mild/pre-symptomatic cases admitted to a COVID Care Facility will undergo regular temperature and pulse oximetry monitoring. The patient can be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset and no fever for 3 days. There will be no need for testing prior to discharge.
At the time of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow the home isolation for further 7 days.
At any point of time, prior to discharge from CCC, if the oxygen saturation dips below 95%, patient is moved to Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC).
After discharge from the facility, if he/she again develops symptoms of fever, cough or breathing difficulty he will contact the COVID Care Centre or State helpline or 1075. His/her health will again be followed up through tele-conference on 14th day.
Moderate cases
1) Patients whose symptoms resolve within 3 days and maintains saturation above 95% for the next 4 days
Cases clinically classified as “moderate cases" will undergo monitoring of body temperature and oxygen saturation. If the fever resolve within 3 days and the patient maintains saturation above 95% for the next 4 days (without oxygen support), such patient will be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset in case of:
- Absence of fever without antipyretics
- Resolution of breathlessness
- No oxygen requirement
There will be no need for testing prior to discharge.
At the time of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow the home isolation for 7 days as per guidelines available at
2) Patient on Oxygenation whose fever does not resolve within 3 days and demand of oxygen therapy continues
Such patients will be discharged only after
- resolution of clinical symptoms
- ability to maintain oxygen saturation for 3 consecutive days
Severe Cases including immunocompromised (HIV patients, transplant recipients, malignancy)
Discharge criteria for severe cases will be based on
- Clinical recovery
- Patient tested negative once by RT-PCR (after resolution of symptoms)
The death toll due to coronavirus rose to 1,981 and the number of cases climbed to 59,662 today, according to the Union health ministry.
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