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COVID-19 PATIENT READY TO MINGLE

19/04/2020 06:18:00 BY MBONGENI NDLELA

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mbongeni@times.co.sz

MBABANE – How long can a recovered COVID-19 patient spend in isolation before being allowed to mingle with people?

This question has become a cause for concern after government, through the ministry of health, has not provided any guidance for discharge and ending isolation for those who have recovered from the virus. These were the patients who were placed in the isolation centre at the Lubombo Referral Hospital.
A technical report issued by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC) on April 8, 2020, states that a COVID-19 patient may be discharged based on: a clinical resolution of symptoms, and on evidence for viral RNA clearance from the upper respiratory tract, where testing capacity permits.

limited testing capacity

“In order to protect the health care system capacity, in the context of widespread community transmission and limited testing capacity, clinical criteria will gain priority. Discharge and ending isolation criteria may be adapted for specific groups of patients,” the report states.

Meanwhile, Dr Vusi Magagula, Director of Health Services, could not give a clear answer on the criterion used by government to end isolation for COVID-19 patients. At first, Magagula said once the patients have tested negative and doctors were certified that they had fully recovered, then the patients could end isolation.

Asked about the incubation period, Magagula then said he was yet to consult about how long these patients would be in self-isolation before they could join members of the public.

According to government, there are currently eight patients that have recovered from the virus and are in self-isolation in their respective homes.
Fana Dlamini, the 31-year-old patient who spent 12 days in the isolation centre after testing positive for coronavirus, says he is ready to mingle with people and continue with his life.
He is targeting May 1 as his ‘freedom’ day from isolation.

self-isolation

In fact, Dlamini said he had spent over a month in self-isolation in his flat alone.
He said he, however, sometimes wore his mask to walk to nearby shops for food.
“I am fine and I feel very healthy now. I am ready to mingle with other people because I believe I have fully recovered,” he said on Friday.
Dlamini explained that he usually received calls from doctors from the isolation centre to monitor his health progress.

Dlamini said he spent 12 days at the Lubombo Referral Hospital after being admitted to that facility on March 21. This was after he tested positive for COVID-19. He was released on the same day with Mduduzi Vilakati, the Senior Labour Officer in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, who was also diagnosed with the virus upon his trip to Italy.

Dlamini does not have any history of travelling out of the country.
He is the patient whom government said got diagnosed with the virus after being in contact with Chinese visitors. Though government had kept secret these Chinese nationals who got in contact with Dlamini, an investigation conducted by the Times SUNDAY last week managed to trace down and identify the Chinese quartet. They were booked in a guest house in one of the suburbs in Mbabane, as they were doing some consultation work for a telecommunication company.

he was very stressed

Dlamini is employed as a driver in a company identified as Huawei in Mbabane.
He said upon his admission at the isolation unit in Lubombo, he was very stressed because of the thought that he might succumb to the deadly virus.
“Considering the reports wherein I saw that in countries like Italy people were dying from the virus and less was published about those who had recovered,” he reckoned.

He said he gained strength and hope after receiving counselling from health practitioners and family members that there were already patients who had recovered from the virus in the country.

He said while admitted in the facility in Lubombo, they were provided with a balance diet including fruits and vegetables. He said constant prayer and God’s grace was the major catalyst that helped in the recovering exercise. He said symptoms of the virus included dry cough, difficulty in breathing, sore throat and pneumonia.