COVID19 Does Not Survive After Ten Days In An Infected Person

The longest period of the Lethal Coronavirus in patients is 10 days, according to a new study.

The Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force media briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Singapore study shows that COVID-19 patients are no longer infectious from the 11th day of being sick, despite some may still test positive.

“A positive test does not equate to infectiousness or viable virus,” a joint research paper by Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Academy of Medicine Singapore reported.

The virus “could not be isolated or cultured after day 11 of illness.”

The paper was based on a study of 73 patients in the city-state.

Ihekweazu said the agency’s strategy on managing COVID-19 patients was guided by the latest local and international clinical scientific evidence, and the NCDC would evaluate if the latest evidence could be incorporated into its patient clinical management plan.

The DG said in line with this latest findings, the agency would release a new case management guidelines for COVID-19 to review the criteria for admission and discharge of treated patients.

He noted that the move would assist in managing challenges faced in isolation centres across the country, particularly with the shortage of bed space.

“We are now relooking our practice in terms of discharge criteria, and even who to keep in hospital, and who can stay at home and for how long.

“Right now, the entire case management team which includes our colleagues at the Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC and few clinicians, are reviewing our case management guidelines to redefine our approach around admission in terms of who is admitted and duration of admission and when to discharge,” he stated.

Ihekweazu, however, said the new guidelines would be released soonest to assist the country better tackle the virus.

“If we are able to do this successfully, it will have good implications on the duration of time people spend in hospital and when they can be discharged.

“That will enable us bring in people more frequently, it will ease up some of the bed space and help us in some of the practical challenges we have.”