Isolate yourself, get tested and notify. A detailed guide of what to do if COVID-19 is suspected

When he found out that his co-worker had COVID-19, Paúl Sánchez became nervous. She had spent a lot of time with him, as they transported together to the office. And although he had no symptoms, he thought that he could have contracted the virus and even spread it to the family with whom he lives.

Paul did not hesitate to warn them about the possible contagion, because in his mind welfare prevailed of those who had opened the doors of their home to him. A month has passed since that experience and now he concludes that notifying was the best thing, as he later confirmed that he was infected and, thanks to his decision, he was able to avoid transmission to others. “People judge you and become paranoid when they see that you got COVID, but when there are parties and they get together without taking care of themselves, they forget,” he reflects.

Confirmed cases of hospital care for COVID-19 have increased in Ecuador and, with the arrival of omicron, the situation is expected to worsen; However, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) does not have a clear protocol of what to do in case of suspected contagion.

Experts consulted agree on these three steps: isolate yourself, get tested and warn. This is not always easy, because in practice there are doubts about how to do it. That is why THE UNIVERSE has prepared this guide.

1. Completely isolate yourself in a room

If a patient is suspected of having been infected with COVID-19 because he had close contact with a sick person or has flu-like symptoms, he must preventively isolate himself until the disease is ruled out or confirmed through a test.

Guido Silva, Master in Molecular Biology and Genetics, recommends that the isolation is total. It is better if the infected or suspected person has a private bathroom, to avoid sharing spaces with other members of the house.

Once the patient is isolated in a room, food should be left by the door. The infected person must wait 30 seconds to open and collect their food.

Although the ideal would be to handle disposable cutlery, Silva says, they generate a lot of contamination. Therefore, it is advised put the dishes aside for the sick, wash it with soap or normal detergent and bring the utensils to a boil.

In addition to this, The room cleaning it is something that should only be done by the person who has contracted the disease. It is not recommended that someone else handle sheets or clothing of the infected person, because “when expanding the garments before washing them, suspension particles can escape that may contain viral particles and could contaminate the air, infecting someone else,” explains Silva .

However, the issue of isolation is complex. According to the psychotherapist Patricio Santamaría, director of the Casa de la Familia foundation, “if we have not learned to live with our own loneliness, isolation will generate in us a feeling of abandonment and rejection that can make us feel as if we do not belong. to a family or a group ”.

It is so recommends that family and friends be in communication with the infected person to give them care and company. For Santamaría, this is achieved “by creating problem-solving strategies, such as verbalization to understand how each member of the family is going to participate in the disease and determine, among those involved, who will be a support and a hindrance.”

2. Get tested as soon as possible

After isolating, you have to seek confirmation or discard of contagion through a test. The Ministry of Public Health opened 976 points last Friday to carry out free tests that detect the coronavirus. At these locations, a physician evaluates the patient and, if necessary, arranges for the patient to be an antigen test or a PCR.

It all depends on the circumstances. If there are symptoms, an antigen is done; and if there are no symptoms but the person was in direct contact with a virus carrier, a PCR is done.

Guido Silva explains that “symptoms generally begin from day three, four or five after infection. If there are symptoms, the period of illness immediately begins ”.

Explain that if a test is applied in the first two days of infection, the result is most likely a false negative, regardless of the type of test; On the third day there will be a 56.6% probability for a false negative; and the fourth day is the best time to swab.

The epidemiologist Andrea Gómez maintains that the person who suspects a contagion, because he had close contact with a patient, should be carried out an exam five days after exposure, because at this time the diagnosis will be as accurate as possible.

If the result is positive, the isolation goes from preventive to mandatory, at least ten days, says Gómez.

In addition, it recommends “be aware of signs of possible severity, such as high fever, low oxygen saturation and respiratory distress, which is one of the symptoms with which a person should be treated as early as possible ”.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are mistaken for the flu. “The symptoms are very similar, unlike the loss of smell and taste in most cases of COVID-19, as well as a dry cough and respiratory distress, which is the most serious symptom of this disease. “, Add.

3. Notify the close circle

Communicating in time that there was or is suspected a contagion is the best way to prevent the virus from spreading. In France, for example, when a patient confirms contagion, he is obliged to give the personal information of the people with whom he had contact two days before.

That happened to Teresa (protected name), an Ecuadorian who has lived in that country for four years. The previous weekend she and her boyfriend tested positive for COVID-19. After performing an antigen test and subsequently the PCR test, they confirmed the contagion.

On the same day, Teresa received a call from social security informing her that she could come out of isolation on December 26, after ten days. They also asked for your personal information, as well as that of people with whom you were in close contact 48 hours before from the beginning of their symptoms (names and phone numbers), to inform them of the situation and ask them to isolate themselves and to take a rapid test three or four days after contact with the patient.

In general, people tend not to make their contagion public due to rejection they may feel by other people. This rejection, explains Dr. Silva, is driven by fear and uncertainty. “Here it is very difficult. People prefer to hide it and do not want others to know that they are infected; but, on the contrary, you have to warn everyone as a precaution, “says the professional.

Why is it necessary to follow this protocol?

Official statistics show that confirmed cases of COVID-19 and hospital care for this disease have risen in recent weeks. And the authorities fear that the situation will worsen due to the arrival of the omicron variant.

The increase in hospital care has been felt especially in intensive care units (ICU), according to the figures reported by the MSP. In this type of room, in October, occupancy was around 30% of the available beds; Since the end of November, that number has risen and has remained at around 45%. Last Friday, 180 ICUs were occupied throughout the country. Although the increase is notable, it does not compare with the highest peak this year, which occurred in July, when 618 occupied ICUs were reached.

This rise in hospital care is due to the increase in confirmed cases in recent weeks. Official figures show that December has already exceeded the figure for the last four months, despite the fact that there is still a week left to finish the month. Until last Friday, 12,434 cases were registered. And the situation may be more serious, as the evidence from recent weeks has not yet been fully processed by the MSP and, therefore, is not reflected in official statistics.

The epidemiologist Andrea Gómez maintains that the ability of the MSP to track the advancement of the virus is very limited. According to their analysis, in the country approximately four COVID-19 tests are taken for each positive case. However, remember that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that at least ten tests be taken for each positive case detected. Ecuador does not even reach half of that capacity.

The expert regrets that the MSP “has not improved the diagnostic capacity and what shows the positivity is probably that what is happening outside is being underestimated.”

Also remember that official figures show confirmed cases of COVID-19 and not contagions, which is something different. The first are those who accessed a PCR test that came out negative and the result was sent to the MSP. The infected people, on the other hand, have not necessarily presented symptoms or have passed the disease without undergoing tests or treatment.

Therefore, the specialist highlights that “in the case of our country they test people with symptoms, so we do not know how many people have been infected, but the number of cases.” (I)