500 recovered Covid-19 patients to be discharged today in Mumbai

More than 500 Covid-19 patients from different Covid care centres in the city, who tested negative in two consecutive swab tests, will be discharged on Saturday.

More than 500 Covid-19 patients from different Covid care centres in the city, who tested negative in two consecutive swab tests, will be discharged on Saturday. This is the first time that such a large number of recovered patients will be discharged on the same day.

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On Friday, 122 cured patients were discharged in Mumbai. So far, 595 recovered patients have been discharged since January 25.

All these symptomatic and asymptomatic patients were sent to isolation facilities in Covid care centres, health care and dedicated hospitals. Most of them were asymptomatic and were detected through contact tracing at containment zones. “As they were isolated around the same time with a difference of one or two days, they have completed their incubation period together. As their swab tests have come negative, we have decided to discharge them by Saturday,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The BMC on April 12 changed its testing policy, focusing mainly on symptomatic patients, instead of asymptomatic ones, which was widely criticised by health experts who demanded more tests on asymptomatic patients who could be spreading the infection. The civic body has observed that more than 70% of the asymptomatic patients are turning negative in their two consecutive swab tests without developing any symptoms during their incubation period. “We have observed that many asymptomatic patients are living normally in isolation wards without developing any symptoms. As they don’t cough or sneeze, the chance of the spread of infection among asymptomatic patients is less,” said Kakani.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that to date there has been no documented asymptomatic transmission. Indirectly, asymptomatic patients could be leading to development of community immunity or herd immunity, said experts. This happens when the spread of the infection stops naturally due to the development of antibodies among 80% of the population, after getting infected with the virus or by vaccination. “Firstly, asymptomatic patients are safer than symptomatic patients. Secondly, once their immune system develops antibodies, the virus can’t infect them again. So, without even infecting people, they are turning into a shield in the fight against the spread of the virus,” said Dr Om Srivastava, an epidemiologist.