Covid-19 is just like a girl you’ve started dating recently.
After every few days, you know a little bit more about her. Sometimes good, most times, bad.
And this time, it’s something good.
Research Shows a COVID-19 Patient is No Longer Infectious 11 Days After Getting Sick
The scariest part about Covid-19 isn’t it’s deadliness, but it’s highly infectious nature.
According to Singapore’s resident disciplinary master, the R₀ of Covid-19 is 2 to 2.5. In simple terms, one single infected can potentially infect 1,000 people in one month.
However, a new local study on the coronavirus showed that even though patients continued to test positive for Covid-19, it doesn’t mean that they’re capable of infecting others.
Released by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the Academy of Medicine’s Chapter of Infectious Disease Physicians on 23 May, the research was based on a “multi-centre study” of 73 patients.
Professor Leo Sin Yee, executive director of the NCID, is confident (scientifically) that a person is no longer infectious 11 days after the onset of symptoms.
The exceptions are patients with “weakened immune systems” where the virus might remain “viable” for a longer period.
Such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or people on immune suppressant drugs after a transplant.
The paper was also based on a small study conducted in Germany.
It was found that on the first week of illness, patients were spreading high amounts of viral shedding.
But on day 8, they stopped.
As for why Singapore’s paper is 11 days? Turns out it’s just us being kiasu.
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A Potential Game Changer
Currently, the Ministry of Health (MOH) only discharges patients who test negative twice for the swab test.
But if MOH decides to accept the evidence of the paper and adopt a “time-based” discharge, 80% of Covid-19 patients could be discharged after 11 days.
As for the rest who are showing more serious symptoms, they will remain in hospital to receive care, but will no longer be isolated.
The health authorities have always prioritised the healthcare capacity in the fight against Covid-19.
That’s the entire reason why we’re still in #CB right now.
The goal isn’t to eliminate Covid-19 entirely. It’s to ensure that the number of cases is spread out over a period of time to ensure that when a patient requires assistance breathing, they have a ventilator available at your bed.
If patients are getting discharged after 11 days, this means that more healthcare capacity will be freed up, giving Singapore (at the very least) some breathing room.
MOH has said that they will study the paper closely:
“The Ministry of Health will closely study the position statement and evaluate how we can incorporate the latest evidence on the period of infectivity for persons with Covid-19 into our patient clinical management plan.”
They’ve Done It Before
Releasing Covid-19 patients who still tested positive for Covid-19, I mean.
On 16 May, it was reported that 18 patients were discharged from D’Resort, a community care facility in Singapore, even though they still tested positive.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has determined that they were shedding dead viral components that are no longer transmissible.
These patients are required to quarantine for another 7 days after they’re discharged from the facilities.
They were advised by medical experts that after 14 days, patients are “unlikely” to be infectious as they could no longer culture the virus from the biological samples provided by the patients even though they still test positive.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, Covid-19’s practically “bad girlfriend” material.
She makes you sick every time you meet and could potentially bankrupt you, if not make your life difficult as heck.
Practically the epitome of a toxic relationship #JustSaying
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