The Chief Minister today clarified that Kerala’s discharge policy regarding Covid patients is different from the existing policies at the national level and in other states. As per national policy, a patient is discharged after 10 days of admission if there are no minor symptoms. Most states follow that method. Initially in Kerala, a patient was discharged only after two consecutive negative test results.

“Now, tests have been made mandatory in asymptomatic cases also in the updated guidelines of the Department of Health published yesterday. Patients will be discharged only if the antigen test is negative. Kerala has always followed a policy of discharging patients only after test negative. This is to ensure the safety of the community and to prevent the further spread of the disease. In the third phase of the Covid outbreak in the State, the numbers have been increasing rapidly and today it has cross 1,000.  A pandemic creates a complex situation”, the CM said.