KUCHING, May 26: Covid-19 patients who have completed their two-week treatment at hospitals will be allowed to return home even though they test postive on the 13th day test.
Health Ministry (MoH) director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the decision to change the ministry’s protocol concerning Covid-19 patients was made based on the latest guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“According to WHO guidelines, positive results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests conducted on the 13th day could be due to residual fragments of the virus which are no longer active in the body.
“Before this, there were Covid-19 positive patients who had to remain in hospital even after two weeks’ treatment because their PCR test on the 13th day came back positive,” Dr Noor Hisham said at the ministry’s daily Covid-19 media briefing in Putrajaya today.
All hospital staff will be informed of the latest changes.
As to how long the virus remained contagious, Dr Noor Hisham added that WHO had stated that after 14 days or more of treatment, infection is almost zero. — DayakDaily
