Covid still requires protocols, such as wearing a mask – 03/22/2023 – Health

The Covid pandemic is not over yet, but it is a fact that it has been losing strength. The main cause of this is the increase in the vaccination rate, which is essential to avoid serious cases of the disease.

Even so, other measures remain important to control the spread of Sars-CoV-2. Use of masks, testing and isolation are examples. Below, see the protocols for these actions.

How do I know if I have Covid?

Some typical symptoms of the disease, such as fever, cough and loss of smell or taste, may indicate that you have been infected.

To be sure, the ideal is to resort to tests.

Self-tests, for example, are a cheap and easy-to-use option, but if the person does not feel safe using it, they can opt for quick pharmacy tests – they use the same technology that looks for part of the virus protein in the collected sample.

It is recommended that the tests be done between the 1st and 7th day from the onset of symptoms. And, if you don’t have symptoms, from the fifth day of exposure to the person who was infected by Sars-CoV-2.

For more serious cases, such as when the oxygen saturation is below 95%, it is recommended to seek a health service instead of using this type of test.

Also, there is a chance that the test will have a false negative result. Therefore, when you have a negative result, it is indicated that you do at least one more test within 48 hours. During this period, it is important to adopt measures such as the use of masks and isolation to prevent a possible spread of the virus.

Another alternative is to carry out laboratory tests of the RT-PCR type: their result is safer, reducing the chance of having a false negative.

If the result is positive, what to do?

In case of a positive result for the disease, it is necessary to take measures so as not to bring the infection to other people. The main ones are the use of masks and social isolation.

It is also recommended that the person be aware of the symptoms. For example, monitoring oxygen saturation is a possibility. If the condition worsens, with difficulty breathing, the search for a health service is important.

How long should I be isolated?

Recommendations vary. In Brazil, since January 2022, the Ministry of Health has adopted a scheme in which, for mild and moderate cases, the infected person can return to daily life from the seventh day without showing fever or respiratory symptoms in the last 24 hours.

If you take a test on the fifth day from the symptoms and the result is negative, in addition to no longer experiencing symptoms in the last 24 hours, the patient can also leave isolation. If the symptoms persist, it is necessary to complete ten days from the beginning of them.

Another possibility is that the person has symptoms until the seventh day. In that case, a new test is mandatory. If it is negative, the person needs to wait 24 hours without symptoms to leave isolation. If positive, it is necessary to wait at least ten days to, after 24 hours without feeling anything, leave isolation.

For the WHO (World Health Organization), the model is different. Before, the entity recommended that, without carrying out new tests after confirmation of the disease, a person with Covid should be isolated for ten days from the onset of symptoms, with the addition of at least another three days from the resolution of all symptoms. .

However, in January 2023, the organization changed the protocol, making these three additional days no longer necessary.

In addition, the WHO previously recommended 10 days of isolation for those with positive tests but without any symptoms of infection. With the update earlier this year, the number was reduced to five days.

Should I wear masks if I have Covid?

The use of masks continues to be recommended for those infected with Sars-CoV-2, to prevent transmission of the virus. The Ministry of Health says that even when leaving isolation on the fifth or seventh day, the person must adopt it by the tenth day from the onset of symptoms.

WHO, in turn, recommends that it be used by people recently exposed to Covid, with suspicion of the disease, and by individuals at greater risk or in situations of agglomeration or in closed environments, without much ventilation.