All quarantined individuals will be tested for Covid-19 infection before release as per the new protocol, reveals Dr Ali Latheef.

Speaking at the National Emergency Operation Centre's (NEOC) press briefing on Sunday afternoon, internal medicine specialist Dr Ali Latheef revealed all quarantined individuals will be tested for Covid-19 infection before release, under version 9 of the Covid-19 quick reference guideline which is to be publicised on Monday.

Highlighting that the current guideline divides confirmed cases into three categories; moderate to severe diseases, mild diseases and asymptomatic high-risk contacts, the doctor recognised that this may have caused confusion within the public. He acknowledged that this may have given non-technical readers the impression that high-risk contacts must also be tested. However, version 8 of the guideline only instructs for samples to be taken from symptomatic patients, said Dr Latheef.

Further, he disclosed that the earlier protocol was written based on the couples that tested positive for the disease where one partner was asymptomatic. As such, the doctor said that the new guideline is based on new experiences and who guidance surveys and the recent increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Up until now, no direct contacts had been tested, said Dr Latheef, adding that this procedure will be modified in version 9.

Under version 9 of the guideline, all quarantined individuals will undergo an exit-screening process after completing the 14-day quarantine period. The process will include a questionnaire and sample testing for Covid-19 infection.

Additionally, Dr Latheef stated that the modification to the protocol was possible due to the provision of new testing kits.

Moreover, he noted that these guidelines will be amended as the situation progresses and that the changes will be shared with the public.

At the same press conference, spokesperson for the government's Covid-19 taskforce revealed that the country has 3800 testing kits and 1000 rapid testing kits with another 6800 kits arriving on 31st March and an additional 29,500 kits en-route as well.