LUCKNOW: After allowing home quarantine facility for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in Uttar Pradesh, the state health department has issued a revised policy for the discharge of recovered patients.
The revised policy makes it mandatory for doctors to ensure that no patient has any symptoms of the infection, their oxygen saturation level (even with support) is 94% and they haven't experienced a fever in the three days prior to the discharge.
The attending doctors will have to take chest X-rays of patients before discharge, while their mobile phone, clothes, slippers etc. will be properly sanitised. The policy makes it clear that if patients who recovered after treatment develop symptoms of COVID-19 again within 14 days of discharge from the hospital, they will be registered as a new case once again.
According to Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad, all the asymptomatic patients in home quarantine will have to be shifted to a COVID hospital if they show any symptom within 10 days of home isolation. Patients who don’t show any symptoms within 10 days of home isolation will be considered as "recovered" but they will still have to be in home quarantine for seven more days.
Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms, admitted to the COVID hospital, will be discharged only if they do not show any symptoms after 10 days of treatment and after proper testing. However, even after getting discharged they will be required to observe a week long isolation at home. Patients with mild symptoms will be tested through TruNat machines eight days after the first test and if they test negative, then they will be sent to home quarantine for seven days.
Meanwhile, patients who are moderately symptomatic will be admitted to level 2 and level 3 COVID hospitals. Patients who need oxygen, have co-morbid conditions or requiring ventilator support will be admitted to a dedicated COVID hospital.
The samples of these patients will be sent for laboratory testing on the 12th day after the first test. They will also be confined to home quarantine of seven days even after testing negative.