The new strategy will reduce the pressure on Primary, and will focus on attention to vulnerable people
The Region of Murcia says goodbye to more than two years of exception, with mass isolations, quarantines and screenings in the hunt for the Covid virus. Since yesterday, there is no longer an obligation to stay home after contagion, nor will people with mild symptoms be tested unless they are patients with risk factors or are over 60 years old. Covid, in short, is treated like the flu or any other respiratory virus.
If the sick person is not able to work due to the symptoms they present, they will be discharged. If not, he will be able to continue leading a normal life, although he will be urged “to reduce interactions to the maximum”, wear a mask and avoid contact with vulnerable people. The ‘flu’ of the Covid causes doubts or misgivings to some experts, but for the Administration it is time for a new strategy. The Minister of Health, Juan José Pedreño, defended yesterday that “the acute phase” of the health crisis has been left behind, so that efforts must now focus on protecting the most vulnerable. Those over 60 years of age, immunosuppressed patients, pregnant women and health and social health personnel will continue to undergo antigen or PCR tests in the event of any symptoms compatible with Covid. To the rest, only if these symptoms are severe.
THE KEYS
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What should I do if I have symptoms of Covid?
If you have a high fever for several days or difficulty breathing, see your doctor. If the symptoms are mild and you are not a social health worker or belong to a vulnerable group (over 60 years of age, pregnant women or immunosuppressed patients), you can request an appointment at your health center, but an antigen test will not be done to confirm whether it is Covid or another respiratory virus, nor will a sick leave be processed except for clinical reasons. -
When should I isolate or quarantine?
From now on, only positive patients admitted to health and social health centers will have to be isolated. Workers at these centers who test positive will be removed from their jobs for five days, and after that time they will be tested to see if the result is negative. The rest of the population will not have to isolate themselves, although they are asked to “reduce social interactions to the maximum”, especially with vulnerable people, and wear a mask.
The new strategy should alleviate the pressure that Primary Care has suffered since the start of the pandemic. “During the sixth wave we have been absorbed by a tremendous load, with many patients with very mild symptoms or even asymptomatic. This, in principle, will decongest the health centers, “says Juan Francisco Menárguez, coordinator of the Jesús Marín outpatient clinic, in Molina de Segura. However, the Murcian Health Service (SMS) did not present the new strategy to Primary professionals until yesterday, which was criticized by the vice president of the Murcian Society of Family and Community Medicine (Smumfyc), Jesús Abenza. «The protocol has arrived at mid-morning, and a videoconference has been held at 2:00 p.m. Without time to plan anything and with people in the waiting rooms. I don’t think many doctors have been able to follow her », he lamented.
The flu model
The SMS updated the appointment service in the afternoon to adapt it to the new protocol. Patients will no longer be asked, when they agree to request an appointment through the web, if they present symptoms of Covid, nor will they be instructed to carry out an antigen test. The population will be able to continue going to pharmacies to acquire tests, but the positives of the tests done at home will not be turned over to the epidemiological surveillance system. The monitoring of the pandemic will be carried out based on the notified cases of vulnerable groups, as well as hospitalizations. Ultimately, the epidemiological surveillance model for influenza epidemics will be followed.
The situation remains stable in the Region of Murcia, according to last week’s data, still based on a follow-up of all registered cases. 84 Covid patients remain hospitalized in the Region, compared to 96 on Friday.
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