‘Don’t test for Covid within 102 days of recovery’
Umesh.Isalkar@timesgroup.com
Pune:31.05.2021
Recovered Covid patients opting for non-urgent or elective surgeries are being asked by surgeons to go for repeat RT-PCR/ antigen tests as part of pre-operative protocols. However, experts from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the national task force for Covid-19 have advised against repeating Covid tests within102 days of recovery, citing presence of “nonviable dead-virus particles” that stay in the body for a while.
These virus remnants cannot transmit the illness but can cause a false positive test result. The experts said surgeons should consider performing a nonurgent surgery on a Covid-recovered patient only after six weeks of recovery to ensure faster healing and convalescence postsurgery.
“At present, Covid reinfection is confirmed only after 102 days of diagnosis. So, retesting within this time frame is not advisable,” said infectious diseases expert Sanjay Pujari, a member of the task force.
“Also, a minimum period of six weeks prior to non-urgent surgery is recommended for Covid-recovered patients who were symptomatic. As for emergency surgeries in recovering or recovered patients, these must be done immediately with due precautions,” Pujari said.
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