GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it is looking into reports of some COVID-19 patients testing positive again after initially testing negative for the disease while being considered for discharge.
South Korean officials reported 91 patients thought cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again.
According to the WHO’s guidelines on clinical management, a patient can be discharged from hospital after two consecutive negative results in a clinically recovered patient at least 24 hours apart.
The WHO said as COVID-19 is a new disease, we need more epidemiological data to draw any conclusions of virus shedding profile.
Meanwhile, the world health body dismissed the common myth that persons who have died of a communicable disease should be cremated. “Cremation is a matter of cultural choice and available resources,” the WHO said, in a tweet, adding that “Except in cases of hemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola, Marburg) and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious.”
Except in cases of hemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola, Marburg) and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious.https://t.co/vGfu3p0tX3 #COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/7i63gOBKvL
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 10, 2020
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is affecting 199 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).
More than 103,800 people have died and over 1.7 million infected by the disease as it wreaks havoc across the world. The epicentre of the outbreak has shifted from China to Europe and US, which are recording a rapid rise in new cases every day. At least 388,000 people have also recovered from the mysterious illness.
