Chandigarh: One found Covid-19 positive after 30 tested before discharge

CHANDIGARH: Worries of new infections prompted doctors to test 30 Covid-19 patients quarantined for a week at Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College, Sector 46, at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, before they were to be discharged on Tuesday, contrary to the revised guidelines issued by the government. One of them was found positive, while the rest were discharged.
All these patients were mild/asymptomatic and most were from Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26.Doctors feared that their strategies to stem the spread of the virus in the colony would come undone if any positive case was sent back to the community. “That is the advantage of testing. As new information about the virus is emerging daily, we thought not to take a risk,” said a faculty member in GMCH.
Epidemiologists said no India-based data existed before the guidelines were framed. “The Indian Council of Medical Research has not conducted any study for this 10-day discharge policy to understand if there is any infectivity after that period or not,” said an epidemiologist. He said, “The guidelines were framed on the basis of a few studies done abroad. Due to the lack of the reagents for testing, the guidelines were framed.”
Sources said after the testing was done, the UT administration did not permit doctors to digress from the new discharge guidelines. Under them, patients can be discharged after 10 days of onset of symptoms and no fever for three days. These patients will not be tested for the virus prior to discharge, according to the guidelines.. Some 80 patients have been discharged since May 10 following the new rules.