BMC REVISED GUIDELINES FOR TESTING
Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has issued new testing protocol wherein patients who have mild symptoms of Covid-19 do not require testing at the time of discharge, further adding that testing is mandatory only for discharging the patients who were critical. In case of asymptomatic patients, the laboratories have been directed to test only those identified by fever clinics or outpatient sections of private and government hospitals. BMC, in a circular, said that it is issuing revised guidelines of testing by superseding all earlier circulars in light of the
28 night, he experienced breathing issues a few hours after being discharged and his condition deteriorated. He was rushed to BYL Nair Hospital where he died before admission on May 29.
Two days after his death, on Sunday, the constable’s 20-yearold son and 19-year-old daughter, too, tested positive for the virus. They have been admitted to Sevenhills Hospital in Andheri.
Dr Neeta Varti, in-charge of the NSCI facility, said, “The constable was admitted with a cough government of India and the state government issuing their revised discharge policy as per the categorisation of patients. BMC stated, “Testing of mild/ very mild /pre-symptomatic cases shall not be required before the discharge if there are no symptoms seen on seventh, eighth and ninth days consecutively. In case of moderate symptomatic patients, testing shall not be required if the patient recovered clinically. Testing is required once before discharge in cases of critical patients and immune-compromised patients when they have no symptoms for three days.”
and fever. We followed the discharge process as per the ICMR guidelines and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) discharge policy, which states that a patient can be discharged after 10 days without a test.”
Assistant municipal commissioner of G-south ward, Sharad Ughade, said, “It’s not in our hands. We follow the policy of the government.”
BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal refused to comment on the issue.