GUWAHATI: As per the new COVID-19 protocols of the government of Assam, asymptomatic positive patients can now be discharged after completing 14 days of hospitalization.
The new protocol reads, "If a COVID-19 positive patient has completed 14 days in hospital from the date of collection of his/her first swab sample, then such persons would be released for 14 days strict home quarantine."
However, the same does not apply to patients having fever, is symptomatic and his/her oxygen saturation is not below 95 percent.
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For patients released on this ground, the district administration is to ensure that the 14 days’ home quarantine period is strictly followed.
Prior to this new protocol, the Assam government has ensured that every positive patient is released only after complete recovery from the virus. As such, two successive tests had to declare negative results after proper treatment for the patient to be discharged from hospital.
This come in pursuance of the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, published in May, which states that a patient can be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset and no fever for 3 days.
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Dr Achyut Chandra Baishya, principal of GMCH, speaking to G Plus said, "If a patient has co-morbidity, then we are not discharging even though the patient is reported negative. The guidelines are given but it cannot be a thumb rule. Every human body is different, so it varies from person to person. In Assam, after a patient completes 10 days in hospital after being tested positive, he/she is tested again. And we discharge him after 14 days irrespective of the result provided there is no other co-morbidity or symptoms of Covid."