Muscat: A Covid-19 test when a person is admitted to any hospital for any reason is a must now. This is done along with a host of other tests.
The result takes three days and in the meantime, he has to go through other tests and medications as an inpatient.
However, question is being asked both by the patients and their relatives that whether he should be given another Covid-19 test before he leaves the hospital. It holds logic for high chances of virus infection due to the patient’s movement inside the hospital with minimum personal protective equipment (PPE) for two to three days, according to medical experts.
"I strongly advocate that there should be some provision to do the same. There should be a similar protocol once the travel is open. This can preferably be a rapid test, says Dr Mizun Tufail al Rahman.
If the virus has entered the body on day one, the patient develops cough and fever only by seventh day. So, the first week in medical science is called incubation period.
"The PCR test for Covid-19 becomes positive only when one develop symptoms or after seven days of viral entry. Not during incubation period. So, if a patient contracts an infection in the hospital, the test will be positive only after about seven days or five to 10 days of contracting the same," explained Dr Raman, a cardiologist.
He further says that a PCR test, tests the virus protein while antibody test identifies the protein or antibody produced by the body against the virus. The antibody test becomes positive only after roughly two weeks after the virus enters the body.
"The patient might get infected after being tested or being discharged. Ideally at the time of discharge patient should be tested again for Covid-19," opines Dr Viresh Chopra.
"However, if you test positive for Covid-19 by a viral test, you should know what protective steps to take if you are sick or caring for someone. Also, if you test negative for Covid-19 by a viral test, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. Nonetheless, that does not mean you will not get sick. The test result only means that you did not have Covid-19 at the time of testing."
He further says that if one tests positive or negative for Covid-19, no matter the type of test, he or she still should take preventive measures to protect him and others.
However, Dr Ramla al Qassab says the second test after two to three days of leaving the hospital will help.
"Because he might have got the infection but not necessarily the test will be positive. Chances being he might be negative initially then after few days, he can develop symptoms and becomes positive. There are evidences that some patients can show symptoms after up to 11 days of the exposure during that period they were negative," she said and added “if within the administration he develops new symptoms then they repeat the test and no point doing second test if there are no new symptoms.”
"Usually the doctors assess the patient's condition clinically and if a strong suspicion of Covid-19 is there, a PCR test is done. If required, a second test is done but usually not before seven days from the initial test," said Dr Mathew Varghese of Rustaq Hospital.
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