Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hasan, issued a decision related to dealing with coronavirus patients at Hariri Hospital, namely those who are asymptomatic or suffer from mild symptoms, as well as patients who have recovered yet still test positive.

The decision read as follows:

“Upon diagnosis, and in the absence of symptoms or when the symptoms are mild, and when a patient insists on not admitting himself to the hospital, and upon psychosocial evaluation confirming that the patient is fully aware of the importance of home isolation and has the means to do so without compromising the health of his family or putting his entourage at risk, the doctor shall then discharge the patient and immediately report his phone number and address to the Ministry of Health. The doctor must also inform the patient that his personal information will be handed over to the security services who shall monitor his and his family’s complete commitment to home isolation.

In such a case, home isolation must be applied over a month period, from the date of the first lab test for those who are showing no symptoms, and a full month period from the date the symptoms disappeared for those who have exhibited or are exhibiting any of the virus’ symptoms. In the absence of a place for solitary isolation, and given the need to be present with other people under the same roof, quarantine procedures shall be applied in a special room inside the house, and all the residents of the house shall also self-isolate.

The Ministry of Public Health will provide the security liaison officers with all [the patients’] personal information, so they could coordinate with the security services, municipalities, and NGOs in different regions, as needed, so as to ensure the conditions of home isolation are implemented properly. This decision allows the admission of other cases that require hospitalization, especially since the isolation rooms at Hariri Hospital are witnessing an increase in the number of quarantined patients who are no longer showing any signs of illness, though their laboratory tests remain positive — patients could test positive for up to a month after the symptoms have disappeared. Furthermore, keeping said patients in the hospital would negatively affect their mental health.”

Source: NNA