Karnataka Releases Hospital Discharge Rules for Omicron-Recovered Patients

The Government of Karnataka on Friday, 10 December, announced fresh guidelines for discharging patients who have recovered from illness caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The first two cases of Omicron were detected in Karnataka.

The circular issued on Friday trifurcates the cases into mild, moderate and severe, laying down specific guidelines for the discharge process of affected individuals. Here is all you need to know.

Mild

As per the revised instructions, a patient can be discharged 10 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms if they:

• Show no symptoms in the last three consecutive days

• Have O2 levels of more than 95 percent (without oxygen support) for four consecutive days

• Test negative in two RT-PCR tests conducted 24 hours apart

Following discharge, the guidelines direct for the patient to home-quarantine and self-monitor their health for a week. The home quarantine can end if a RT-PCR test conducted on the sixth day is negative.

Moderate

For patients with moderate cases, the protocol for discharge is also initiated 10 days after the onset of symptoms and has the same provisions as patients with mild illness, including:

• A resolution of breathlessness

• Resolution of other clinical symptoms (based on the report of investigations)

Severe

In cases of severe illness, including immunocompromised persons, the discharge process will be initiated after complete clinical recovery. Additionally, the patient should have:

• Two negative RT-PCR tests (24 hours apart) three days after complete clinical recovery. If tested positive, the swab test will be repeated after two days

Following their discharge, the district surveillance officer (DSO) will be required to follow up the patients at their homes through the tele-monitoring team in the community and using the quarantine app.