By Sampada A. Khatiwada
Kathmandu, Nov. 12: Bhuwan Pathak, 55, of Balaju started staying in home isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 on October 3. He was mildly symptomatic and was following all the prescribed safety measures.
After staying in home isolation for 15 days, Pathak went for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test again on October 18 but to his surprise, he again tested positive for the virus. "Although the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has stated that asymptomatic patients can get back to their daily routine after completing 14 days in isolation without undergoing through a PCR test, my office required a negative report before returning to work," he said.
Pathak then decided to stay in isolation for 10 more days but even after 10 days, he still tested positive. "It is when COVID-19 started taking a toll on my mental wellbeing," said Pathak. "When I contracted the virus for the first time, I was calm, composed and confident that I would beat the infection shortly. But testing positive multiple times while I am not showing any symptoms has broken my patience level."
It has been 37 days that Pathak contracted the virus but he is still testing positive. However, the Cycle Threshold (CT) value in his report has increased from 18 to 32. "Except for feeling fatigued, I am completely fine. My senses of smell and test have also revived. However, I am still testing positive. The fact that I am not able to return back to work due to this very reason is bothersome," Pathak added.
Pathak is not the only one who has been found with the novel coronavirus infection even after completing 14 days in isolation. Narottam Rana Magar, ward chair of Tokha Municipality-7, also shares a similar story.
Ward chair Magar kept on testing positive for over a month after contracting the virus. "Although the government has explicitly said that test is not necessary after staying in isolation for 14 days, I stayed in home isolation for almost a month for the sake of my family's satisfaction," said Magar.
He also said that testing positive multiple times had affected him psychologically, barring him from getting back to his normal life. "After testing positive for two times in a row after completing 20 days in isolation, I stopped getting my PCR test done," he added.
Likewise, Mina Shrestha, 40, of Lazimpat continued testing positive for COVID-19 for three times straight after completing her stay in isolation. "Although my body felt fine, the positive report was a headache for me and my family. The doctors say that the virus won't spread after 11 days, but due to the report, I didn’t go to work for a month."
Meanwhile, the doctors say that the PCR report being positive doesn’t mean the infected person will spread the virus if the CT value is more than 24. "If mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patient tests positive even after two weeks of contracting the virus and the CT value is more than 24, the virus doesn’t affect the patient's body much and doesn't spread also," said Dr. Rabindra Pandey, a public health specialist.
This is why the government has stated that asymptomatic COVID-19 patients could be discharged from the hospital after 12 days or can get out of home isolation after 14 days, he added.
Dr. Pandey said that in about 90 per cent of the cases, the dead particles and few genes of the virus remain for a longer time in the patient's body. "This is the reason behind the patient's report coming negative. In one case from Nawalparasi, an infected person tested positive five times after completing the isolation period but his health condition was normal," he added.
"Thus, even if an asymptomatic patient continues to test positive after two weeks of contracting the virus, s/he can get back to his/her normal life," added Dr. Pandey.