Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients being released from isolation as new WHO guidelines kick in – CMO

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud has related that asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are being released from isolation facilities in accordance with the updated World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

On June 17, the WHO issued updated guidelines on how to treat with COVID-19 patients in isolation. As part of the updated guidelines, WHO said that symptomatic patients could be released 10 days after symptom onset, plus at least 3 additional days without symptoms – including without fever and without respiratory symptoms. That is even without retesting them.
For persons who have been tested positive but have no symptoms, they can be released from isolation after 10 days without retesting.
This means that there is a possibility that the person may still be positive and released from isolation.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, during a telephone interview with <<<Guyana Times>>>, stated that the Public Health Ministry is just following the WHO’s guidelines and did not implement that system on their own.
“Persons who remain asymptomatic throughout the time but they couldn’t get their testing done so once they complete the full WHO 14 days, we release them with the understanding that they continue to be monitored for another 7 days. We have a call-in system and if any sign or symptom reoccur, we would immediately reinstitute the control measures,” the CMO stated.
The CMO clarified that the Ministry is not callously releasing persons from isolation and when pressed about the number of persons who have been released thus far, Dr Persaud related that he cannot disclose such information at this time.
“We are going with the guidelines published by the WHO. It is not any release of anybody anywhere. And some people who were in quarantine and their tests came back negative they were also released. I cannot say how much were released. It is going according to the WHO guidelines and who meets the criteria we will release them accordingly,” he added.
The WHO explained that the reason for the change in the guidelines – which earlier mandated that a person should have two negative RT-PCR tests at least 24 hours apart – was birthed from consultations with global expert networks and Member States which indicated that it has been difficult in light of limited laboratory supplies, equipment, and personnel in areas with intense transmission.
These challenges and newly available data on the risk of viral transmission over the course of the COVID-19 illness provided the framework for updating WHO’s position on the timing of discharging recovered patients from isolation in and outside healthcare facilities. The WHO continuously reviews scientific literature on COVID-19 through its Science Division and its COVID-19 technical teams.
All aspects of clinical management of COVID-19 patients and laboratory testing strategies are discussed within the WHO and with Member States and WHO’s global expert networks of public health professionals, clinicians, and academics around the world. These expert networks and the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) considered the challenges and reviewed the available data in the decision process to change the initial recommendation.
The updated criteria for discharge from isolation balances risks and benefits; however, no criteria that can be practically implemented are without risk. There is a minimal residual risk that transmission could occur with these non–test-based criteria. There can be situations in which a minimal residual risk is unacceptable, for example, in individuals at high risk of transmitting the virus to vulnerable groups or those in high-risk situations or environments. In these situations, and in patients who are symptomatic for prolonged periods of time, a laboratory-based approach can still be useful.
The WHO encourages the scientific community to compile additional evidence to further improve isolation discharge criteria and establish the conditions under which isolation can be abbreviated or where the possible risks of the current discharge criteria require further adaptation. (G2)