NCDC releases new guidelines on COVID-19 patients’ treatment, discharge

Abuja – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday announced a new case management guidelines for the treatment and discharge of COVID-19 pandemic patients.

This came as the NCDC announced on Thursday that it recorded 350 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number in the country to 11,516.

Its Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) media briefing in Abuja.

Ihekweazu said that the third version of the guidelines was released following the emergence of new science about the duration of infectivity of individual patients.

The director-general said that the guidelines were for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

According to him, symptomatic patients will now be discharged at least 10 days after symptom onset and at least three days without symptoms.

“For asymptomatic patients, they can be discharged 14 days after the first PCR positive test.

“We no longer have to wait for a negative test to discharge, with the confidence that you can go home and you are no longer infective or putting family or friends at risk.

“If your symptoms lasts longer, we will wait while managing it,” Ihekweazu said.

He said that physicians were hesitant about the new guidelines, assuring them that the new guidelines was effective.

The NCDC chief said the centre had also removed the use of antivirals and Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine from its treatment guidelines.

He said the antivirals would now be used only on trials setting and casually, because its safety was uncertain.

According to its official Twitter handle, all new cases, as at June 4, 2020, Nigeria has 350 new confirmed cases with eight deaths.

NCDC stated that the new cases were reported from 20 States: Lagos (102), Ogun (34), FCT (29), Borno (26), Kaduna (23), Rivers (21), Kwara (16), Ebonyi (17), Katsina (14), Edo (10), Delta (10), Kano (10), Bauchi (10), Bayelsa (9), Imo (8), Plateau (4), Ondo (3), Nasarawa (2), Gombe (1) and Oyo (1).

No new state had reported a case in the last 24 hours.

The NCDC said that till date, 11,516 cases have been confirmed, out of which 7,658 are active cases; 3,535 cases have been treated and discharged, and 323 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The agency called on Nigerians to observe the procedures for quarantine, avoid public places and ensure public hygiene.

“We cannot solve problems of over 60 years in six weeks.

“As we work hard to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection to health care workers on the frontlines, we need a fundamental change in our approach to infection,  prevention and control in Nigerian hospitals,“ it stated.