'Cured > Hospitalized' But... More Than 10 Patients Reconfirmed After Discharge

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] A 37-year-old woman in Daegu who was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was discharged on the 21st after receiving a clean bill of health while undergoing inpatient treatment at Gunsan Medical Center. However, her fever rose to 38 degrees Celsius just one day later, and she underwent diagnostic testing again at the Daegu Medical Center screening clinic, testing positive once more on the 26th. This marks a re-confirmation of infection just five days after being released from isolation.

◆ 'Recovered Patients' > 'Hospitalized Patients' = According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, as of midnight on the 30th, out of 9,661 cumulative confirmed cases in South Korea, 5,228 patients have been released from isolation. Excluding 158 deaths and 4,275 patients still undergoing inpatient treatment, the number of recovered patients accounts for 54.1% of all cases. As of the 4th, only 41 out of 5,328 cumulative confirmed cases had been released from isolation, representing just 0.77% of the total. However, on the 28th, the number of recovered patients surpassed those currently hospitalized for the first time and has since maintained a proportion exceeding half of all cases.

With the increase in discharged patients, there has been some relief in the operation of treatment beds and residential treatment centers for mild cases. On the other hand, as patients who left inpatient treatment facilities have been re-confirmed positive within less than a week, health authorities are experiencing confusion over adjusting the criteria for release from isolation. On the 27th in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, a family of three?including a 17-month-old girl and her parents in their 30s?were all re-confirmed positive after discharge. Similar cases of patients who tested negative and were discharged but later readmitted due to symptom recurrence have been reported in Ulsan, Daegu, Yecheon in Gyeongbuk, and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province.

◆ "More than 10 Cases of Re-positivity After Discharge" = Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, stated at a briefing the previous day, "More than 10 cases have been reported domestically where patients tested positive again after being released from isolation or after symptoms improved." She added that in-depth investigations are needed to determine whether these cases resulted from reinfection through additional contact with other confirmed patients or from reactivation of the virus within the body. Cases of re-positivity after discharge have also been confirmed in China and Japan, and local research in China has shown that 3-10% of confirmed patients were re-confirmed positive after recovery.

Our government and health authorities distributed the "COVID-19 Response Guidelines, 7th Edition" on the 2nd, which included relaxed criteria for release from isolation. Initially, patients could only leave the hospital after symptoms disappeared and two consecutive negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were conducted 24 hours apart after 48 hours had passed. However, if clinical criteria were met, patients could be discharged even if they did not meet the testing criteria. Instead, they were to undergo self-isolation or facility isolation for three weeks from the onset of symptoms before being released from isolation. The "7-3 Revised Edition," additionally distributed on the 17th, removed the phrase regarding release from isolation after three weeks of self-isolation or facility isolation from the onset of symptoms.

Health authorities have indicated that they may add this item again when revising the guidelines once more. Head Jung said, "Most experts recommend some form of self-isolation for about three weeks after onset," and added, "We plan to review whether to apply this to cases where isolation was lifted a bit earlier through guideline changes."