The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has suggested that hospitals in and around COVID-19 containment zones must treat all patients as suspect COVID-19 cases until proven otherwise and exercise standard care. Ministry has issued the guidelines after detection of suspected COVID-19 case in a Non-COVID health facility.

Our correspondent reports, Ministry said that a COVID-19 case with mild and asymptomatic may go undetected and inadvertently transmit the infection to other patients and health care workers, putting these individuals at risk and compromise the functionality of the healthcare facility. The guidelines stated that whenever a Non-COVID patients or any health care worker is suspected to have COVID like symptoms or test positive for Corona virus, the hospital infection control committee will come into action, investigate the matter and suggest further course of action.

As per the guidelines, all close contact of health care worker and supportive staff of the confirmed case should be put on Hydroxychloroquine for a period of seven weeks. It has also been suggested that once a suspect or confirmed case is detected in a health care facility, standard procedure of rapid isolation, contact listing and tracking disinfection will follow while there will be no need to shut down the whole facility.