Discharged coronavirus patients to be tested again
Thursday, April 16, 2020

All patients who were discharged following their recovery from coronavirus will be subjected to further testing in order to ascertain whether they are completely safe, according to Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC).

"For all discharged patients, we will make sure they developed necessary antibodies against COVID-19. This is a rapid test that avail results in a few minutes,” said Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, the Director General of RBC.

In Rwanda, at least 54 people out of 136 cases have so far recovered from coronavirus and discharged.

For one to be discharged, they must test negative twice, consecutively, and when they get discharged, they have to self-quarantine for 14 days and then be tested again.

The first test is taken on ‘day zero’—the day of the first confirmation of positivity.

The second and third tests are done on the 14th and 16th day, respectively.

If the second and third tests are not consecutive negatives, more tests have to be made.

For instance, if a person tests positive after 14 days, they will repeat the test after 72 hours.