CHENNAI: The Directorate of Public Health on Monday issued guidelines on Covid-19 testing and revised guidelines on discharge. As per the guidelines, testing of all asymptomatic contacts is not needed.
In his direction to all the Deputy Directors of Health Services, all corporation health officers and municipal health officers, the Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr TS Selvavinayagam said re-testing is not needed for discharge from home isolation or from Covid Care Centres (CCC). Hospitalised severe cases should be discharged after clinical recovery. All people with influenza-like illness symptoms like fever, cough, cold, myalgia, breathlessness etc., should be tested.
For eligibility to be tested, contacts of the positive patients should have symptoms, must be above 60 years regardless of symptoms or have co-morbidity status. Special groups like pregnant mothers, immunocompromised individuals, disabled persons etc., regardless of symptoms or comorbidity should be tested. All other asymptomatic contacts are not to be tested, the DPH said.
Patients in CCC or home isolation will stand discharged and can end isolation after at least seven days have passed since onset of symptoms or from date of sampling, and if they have no fever for three consecutive days.
Five med college students test +ve
Madurai: Five undergraduate students from the Madurai Medical College tested positive for Covid-19, said Dean Dr A Rathinavel. The five students, who stay at the college hostel, have mild symptoms and have been isolated, added the Dean. Of the five, four students are from the same batch, while one belongs to a different batch. The Dean added, “Subsequently, nearly 300 contact students were tested and none tested positive.” He also denied reports of the college staff testing positive for Covid-19 infection.