Not all Covid-19 patients will be discharged after 14 days - Health DG clarifies new protocol

Under the new treatment protocol, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has clarified that Covid-19 patients who continue to exhibit symptoms after 14 days will remain in treatment.

Patients with complications will also be treated for as long as it takes for them to recover.

During his daily Covid-19 briefing today, he said that the new treatment protocol was in the works.

“We are in the midst of changing and publishing the guidelines for our specialists and doctors on how to treat and manage patients for the 14 days.

“Those who show symptoms on the first day and continue to do so on day 14, we will keep them because the virus could still be infectious.

“And if they (the patients) have complications due to the virus and need further treatment, we will monitor and treat them until they no longer have symptoms for 14 days (before we) discharge them from the ward,” he explained when asked about the new guidelines.

Following the latest information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the ministry will be changing its protocol by discharging Covid-19 patients after 14 days, even if they test positive for the virus.

This is as patients were no longer able to infect others after two weeks.

He explained yesterday that a “weak positive” result on an RT-PCR test indicates that “dead virus” remains in the body - posing no harm to others.

Presently, patients are discharged after they test negative once for the virus.

WHO said 10 days

Elaborating, Noor Hisham shared that the ministry had adopted its new protocol based on WHO’s report that said Covid-19 patients were no longer infectious 10 days after exhibiting symptoms.

“Therefore if we set it to 14 days, we will be sure when we discharge the patient. And they no longer need to be quarantined at home,” he said.

This contradicts his statements yesterday when he said Covid-19 patients will be advised to undergo home quarantine for 14 days after they are discharged.

Malaysiakini is seeking clarification from the ministry.

Noor Hisham added that patients who decline to return home following their discharge could be offered the option of staying at a quarantine facility for asymptomatic patients or cases with mild symptoms. - Mkini