Ministry of Health: OFFICIAL, the new measure regarding the asymptomatic

The Ministry of Health officially announced today a new measure aimed at asymptomatic people, one that we already talked about this morning, one that is extremely important for the future evolution of the Coronavirus pandemic in our country.

The Ministry of Health explains below the big change for the way asymptomatic people will be treated in Romania from now on.

"Nelu Tătaru, the Minister of Health approved the proposal of the Commission for Clinical and Epidemiological Management of the COVID infection of the Ministry of Health regarding the modification of discharge criteria for patients with the condition of COVID 19.

In this sense, the Order was approved for the amendment and completion of the Order of the Minister of Health no. 555/2020 on the approval of the Plan of measures for the preparation of hospitals in the context of the epidemic of the Coronavirus COVID-19, the List of hospitals that provide medical assistance to patients tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in phase I and phase II and the List with support hospitals for patients tested positive or suspected of having the SARS-CoV-2 virus

According to the document, asymptomatic patients with risk factors, as well as symptomatic patients who have mild forms, will be admitted to phase 2 or support hospitals. They will be able to be discharged after at least 10 days of hospitalization in the absence of fever and improvement of symptoms, for at least 72 hours. Control testing will be performed on day 8 after admission.

Asymptomatic patients who are positive in the control test will be able to be discharged after 10 days, if the attending physician deems it appropriate based on clinical criteria, provided they are isolated at home until the completion of the 14 days of the isolation period starting from the time of admission (respectively 4 days after discharge).

Asymptomatic patients who are negative in the control test will be able to be discharged after 10 days, without the need for home isolation.

In the case of patients with kidney disease who require dialysis, they will be kept hospitalized for up to 14 days in order to ensure access to dialysis (a procedure that cannot be performed in isolation at home).

Symptomatic patients with moderate or severe forms will remain in phase 1 or 2 hospitals that have intensive care units in their structure or in support hospitals, if phase 1 or 2 hospitals do not have intensive care units.

Hospitalization must last at least 14 days from the onset of symptoms, absence of fever for at least 72 hours and improvement of symptoms. Control testing will be carried out after meeting the above mentioned criteria. Patients with a positive result in the control test can be discharged if the attending physician deems appropriate based on clinical criteria, with indications for home isolation for a period determined by the attending physician.

Medical personnel are obliged to use personal protective equipment (PPE) according to the rules in force for all patients who turn to medical-surgical services, adapted according to the risk of the operations performed on the patient.

After discharge, the monitoring of the patient's health during the period of isolation at home is done by the family doctor, daily, through the telemedicine system. For patients who are not on the list of a family doctor, daily monitoring is carried out by the County Public Health Directorate and the Bucharest Municipality.

The new discharge criteria were based on WHO and ECDC recommendations, which no longer condition the discharge of patients with good clinical condition after 2 consecutive negative tests for samples collected at 24-hour intervals. There are reports that patients can remain RT-PCR positive for weeks, or even alternate a positive result days/weeks after a negative one, with preliminary evidence suggesting that the patient is no longer infectious.”