Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: New criteria for discharge will free up testing capacity

A migrant worker winces while going through a swab test at the Swab & Isolation Facility at Tuas Recreation Centre on May 22, 2020. PHOTO: ST FILE

The decision to discharge clinically healthy Covid-19 patients without the need for further tests will free up testing capacity, said Associate Professor Kenneth Mak.

This means that more tests can be diverted to the diagnosis of migrant workers in dormitories, for example, or to screen staff looking after vulnerable seniors.

"There will be some realign-ment of our strategies to accom-modate the increase in capacity we now have," said Prof Mak, the Ministry of Health's director of medical services.

Yesterday, the ministry announced that it will discharge all coronavirus patients considered to be clinically well by day 21 of their illness.

Previously, patients had to test negative twice over 24 hours before they could be discharged, even if they had not been ill for some time.

Apart from diagnosis, some of the freed-up testing capacity will be used to ascertain the prevalence of Covid-19 in dormitories, Prof Mak said.

It will also be used to ensure that workers are clear of the virus so that they can return to work as Singapore prepares to ease circuit breaker restrictions and restart its economy.

Prof Mak stressed that Singapore is continuing to test at a "high rate".

More than 330,000 tests have been carried out for more than 210,000 individuals so far. This works out to more than 58,000 tests per one million population.

"So, we have never stopped aggressively testing," he said. "It is just that the strategy, where we prioritise, might change now that we have some free capacity that we can divert for other priorities."

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that Singapore's testing strategy will change over time, depending on its objectives.

"So, as we begin to open up more in our economy and our community, I think regular testing of workers will become increasingly important," he said.

"This will allow us to identify, to pick up cases in the community early, so that we can prevent a surge of cases in the community and also prevent the emergence of clusters."

In response to a question on how many patients will be allowed to go home under the new discharge criteria, Prof Mak said the total number had not yet been worked out.

"But I would imagine that there would be a few very happy patients... who would be looking forward to being able to go home, after having spent weeks in one of our community care facilities," he said.

Linette Lai

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 29, 2020, with the headline Coronavirus: New criteria for discharge will free up testing capacity. Subscribe