New Delhi: The Centre has changed the discharge policy for Covid-19 patients. As per the new guidelines, patients with 'mild' and 'moderate' symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection will be discharged after at least seven days of testing positive and after three consecutive days of no fever.
They are not required to undergo any testing before being discharged. This change in the discharge policy of Covid-19 patients was made following the review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Key Points Of The Discharge Policy
Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said at a press conference that medium category patients with more than 93 percent saturation (SpO2) for three days without oxygen support can be discharged without any tests and on the basis of the recommendation by doctors.
Such patients, who are on continuous oxygen therapy, may be discharged after their symptoms have resolved, taking into consideration their ability to maintain the prescribed oxygen saturation for three consecutive days without oxygen support, he said.
The Joint Secretary said that the discharge policy for severe cases, including the immunocompromised, would depend on clinical recovery, as mentioned in their medical report.
Patients with mild symptoms admitted to a healthcare facility or in home isolation must be subject to regular health monitoring, he added.
Omicron Patients Require Less Hospitalisation
According to the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Gujarat are the states of concern based on the rise in cases.
Agarwal said, “According to the WHO, Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta." He added that Omicron patients in South Africa, Africa, the UK, Canada, and Denmark require less hospitalisation compared to those infected with the Delta variant.