3 criteria a Covid-19 patient must meet before returning to work - Dr Patrick Amoth

Ministry of Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth on Monday addressed concerns raised by a section of Kenyans online on recovered Covid-19 patients returning to work.

Dr Amoth outlined a three-step criteria that will help the recovered patients determine when they will be ready to return to work.

According to the DG, the first step involves monitoring the occurrence, if any, of Covid-related symptoms.

"At 10 days after the onset of your symptoms, you should not be having fever and you should not be on any medication that reduces fever like paracetamol or Brufen. If you had a cough or difficulty in breathing, those symptoms should have improved in the past three days before considering return to work," Dr Amoth explained.

Ministry of Health Director General Patrick Amoth during a recent press briefing on Covid-19 situation in Kenya Ministry of Health Director General Patrick Amoth during a recent press briefing on Covid-19 situation in Kenya Pulse Live Kenya

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The second criteria addressed those who may have tested positive for Coronavirus but remains asymptomatic of the disease.

Dr Amoth referred to this step as the time-based criteria directing those who have remained asymptomatic 10 days after their Covid-19 diagnosis to feel free to return to work after the 10 symptom-free days.

"Criteria number three is what we call the test-based criteria where 10 days after your Covid-19 diagnosis you have repeated a test for Covid-19 and it is negative, after 24 hours you do another test and it is negative then you are good to go back to work," he explained.

He also urged those Covid-19 recovered patients going back to work to ensure that they maintain the preventive measures of wearing a mask, washing hands and maintaining social distance to prevent spread of the virus.