MoH Will Discharge Covid-19 Patients After 2 Weeks Of Treatment Even If They Still Test Positive
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The Health Ministry has decided to start allowing Covid-19 patients to return home after completing 14 days of hospital treatment, even if they still test positive for the virus.
According to Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the decision is based on the latest Covid-19 guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Prior to this, some patients may have had to remain in hospital for more than two weeks, as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on the 13th day of their stay came back positive.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
Speaking during his daily Covid-19 press conference on 26 May 2020, Dr Noor Hisham explained that according to WHO’s latest guidelines, a positive PCR test result on the 13th day of treatment could be due to residual fragments of the virus in the body.
Despite giving a positive result, he said that these residual fragments are no longer active, and WHO has stated that the infectivity rate after 14 or more days of treatment is nearly zero.
Based on this, even if a Covid-19 patient comes up as positive again at the end of their two-week stay in the hospital, they can be discharged instead.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah
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