Infectious disease experts from Singapore reveal in their study that some COVID-19 patients pose no threat to others when it comes to infection after 11 days of getting sick. They add that even if patients test positive for the virus, the pathogen could not be isolated or cultivated after approximately 11 days of illness.
The joint paper by the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, and Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases based their study on 73 coronavirus patients in the city-state. Singapore's current discharge criteria rely on negative tests rather than infectiousness. The paper's findings now cause suggestions for change regarding the city's coronavirus discharge criteria.
According to a report by the Strait Times, Singapore uses local and international clinical and scientific evidence to manage patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, the Ministry of Health says they will further evaluate the findings of the latest study to see if it could be integrated into their hospitals' clinical management plan.
The paper on the study was released by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Academy of Medicine's Chapter of Infectious Diseases Physicians on May 23 but is yet to be published by the authors. The chapter comprises more than one-third of Singapore's 87 infectious diseases specialists from both the public and private sectors.
According to Professor Leo Yee Sin, the NCID executive director, he is confident that evidence is sufficient in saying that a person no longer remains infectious after 11 days of illness. Dr. Asok Kurup, the chair of the chapter in the academy, also echoes the same sentiment about the study.
The specialists admit that more data would need to be gathered, although the results would most likely reveal the same as a great deal of science is involved. They add that more waiting before action would not be necessary.
Furthermore, the paper also cites another study in Germany where nine patients were found to have high levels of viral shedding from their throat and lungs during the first week of illness. The findings of the study revealed that by the eighth day, no more shedding was traced.
When questioned about why Singapore added three days more despite the German study showing the eighth day was considered safe, Sin said the researchers were very cautious and 'counted till the very last drop.'
Infectiousness VS Positive Coronavirus Test
Concerns have been raised recently as patients in South Korea were reported to have positive tests after recovering from coronavirus. Nevertheless, The Guardian reports that the World Health Organization since then addressed the results as false positives. The organization claims that the results were due to the test picking up particles of the virus within dead lung cells, which no longer remained active.
Medical experts say polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are used to directly detect an antigen's presence rather than the presence of the body's immune response or antibodies. It does not say whether the virus is active and infectious or not.
According to Harvard Medical School, most people with coronavirus presenting symptoms will no longer be contagious by ten days after symptoms resolve. In some cases, people test positive for the virus but do not show signs or develop symptoms of COVID-19 ten days after testing. It remains unclear whether these individuals remain contagious, which is why some experts are still recommending 14 days of isolation.
One of the main problems with rules on infectiousness and transmission of the coronavirus is the differences in how it acts in different individuals. For this reason, officials and health experts advise everyone to wear a mask and keep a physical distance of at least six feet.
Singapore's Current Status on COVID-19
As of present, about 45% of the total 31,068 COVID-19 patients in Singapore have been discharged from hospitals and community health care facilities. The country has reported 642 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday noon.
The government has been actively screening pre-school staff as it prepares to reopen on June 2. The Ministry of Health reports that two pre-school employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday. This brings the total number of confirmed cases among pre-school staff to seven, the ministry reported.
