New list of Coronavirus symptoms: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has added loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) to the list of COVID-19 infection symptoms, news agency ANI reported today. Other symptoms reported by COVID-19 patients at various Coronavirus treatment facilities include fever, cough, fatigue. shortness of breath, expectoration, myalgia, rhinorrhea, sore throat and diarrhoea.
The health ministry today released the clinical management protocol for COVID 19. It mentions that patients have reported the above symptoms at various COVID treatment facilities. The list includes loss of smell and loss of taste.
The protocol says that major risk factors for severe disease are aged above 60 years and underlying non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic lung disease etc.
Throat and nasal swab in viral transport media (VTM) and transported in cold chain is the preferred sample collection method, according to the protocol. The alternate method is “Nasopharyngeal swab, BAL or endotracheal aspirate which has to be mixed with the viral transport medium and transported in cold chain.”
The document released by the Health Ministry says that most patients with COVID-19 patients predominantly have a respiratory tract infection associated with SARS-Cov-2 infection.
Meanwhile, the total number of Coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 3-lakh mark while over 8800 people have died till today. In Uttar Pradesh today, 20 deaths and over 500 news cases were reported. In Delhi, the state government is planning to set up a 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients under a sprawling tent in south Delhi to prepare for a projected surge in the number of cases.
The camp will be set up at the south Delhi campus of spiritual organisation Radha Soami Satsang Beas. The total number of cases in Delhi is 36,824, of which 13,398 patients have been cured/discharged.
