The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended the use of facemasks in specific situations following the resurgence of the COVID-19 infection.
The global agency made the recommendation in updated guidelines, published on its Website on January 13, 2023.
Noting that facemasks continue to be a key tool against COVID-19, the agency said: “The recommendations were based on the epidemiological situation.
“Similar to previous recommendations, WHO advises that there are other instances when a mask may be suggested, based on a risk assessment.
“Factors to consider include the local epidemiological trends or rising hospitalisation levels, levels of vaccination coverage and immunity in the community, and the setting people find themselves in.
“Without testing, for patients with symptoms, the new guidelines suggest 10 days of isolation from the date of symptom onset. Previously, WHO advised that patients be discharged 10 days after symptom onset, plus at least three additional days since their symptoms had resolved.
“For those who test positive for COVID-19 but do not have any signs or symptoms, WHO now suggests five days of isolation in the absence of testing, compared to 10 days previously.
“Isolation of people with COVID-19 is an important step in preventing others from being infected. This can be done at home or at a dedicated facility, such as a hospital or clinic.
“Although of very low certainty, evidence also showed that people with symptoms discharged at day five following symptom onset risked infecting three times more people than those discharged at day 10.
“Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was first recommended by WHO in April 2022. WHO strongly recommends its use in mild or moderate COVID-19 patients who are at high risk of hospitalisation. In December 2022, the first generic producer of the drug was prequalified by WHO.
“WHO also reviewed the evidence on two other medicines, sotrovimab, and casirivimab-imdevimab, and maintains strong recommendations against their use for treating COVID-19. These monoclonal antibody medicines lack or have diminished activity against the current circulating virus variants.
“There are currently six proven treatment options for patients with COVID-19, three that prevent hospitalisation in high-risk persons and three that save lives in those with severe or critical disease. Except for corticosteroids, access to other drugs remains unsatisfactory globally.”
No fewer than 42 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed from December 31, 2022, to January 13, 2023.
So far, Nigeria has recorded 266,492 COVID-19 confirmed cases; 3,155 deaths and 259,858 cases have been discharged across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
As of January 13, there have been 661,545,258 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 6,700,519 deaths, reported to WHO.
Meanwhile, an infectious diseases physician, Dr Iorhen Akase, says 10 per cent of patients treated for COVID-19 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have symptoms of long COVID.
Akase, Head of Infectious Diseases Unit of LUTH, made the disclosure Tuesday during an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
According to the WHO, post COVID-19 condition, commonly known as long COVID, can affect anyone exposed to SARS-CoV-2, regardless of age or severity of original symptoms.
Long COVID is an illness in people who have either recovered from COVID-19 but still report lasting effects of the infection, or have had the usual symptoms for far longer than would be expected.
Akase said that LUTH had been tracking some patients it treated for COVID-19 and discovered that about seven to 10 per cent of the patients treated for COVID-19 came with complaints of symptoms of long COVID.
He said some of the patients are experiencing the symptoms almost two years after their first COVID-19 infection.
“In LUTH, we treated over 6,000 people for COVID-19 – those that were admitted and those that came as outpatients who were tested and treated at home.
“If we say 10 per cent, then it is about 600 patients with long COVID. Those are the ones we know for now.
“These people have long term consequences of COVID-19; that is why the message has to be clear to people that there is something called long COVID,’’ he said.
According to him, viral infections behave the same way.
“People go through an acute illness that lasts five to 14 days before recovering. They recover because the immune system rose up and fought against the virus.
“However, some don’t because the viral infection leaves behind some litany of damages that may take weeks, months or years to fully recover.
“It is like when a tornado passes through a place briefly but the effects are damaging.
“When people have COVID-19 and their immune system is not adjusted enough, making them unable to get back to their normal ways of life, they suffer long term effects, which sometimes, become a psychiatric illness, as some go into depression,” he said.
According to him, it is a huge burden.
He said that LUTH anticipated such and it made it to establish a long COVID clinic where many people had received help.
“People that have recovered from COVID-19 but are having these symptoms can come and complain.
“We investigate each patient to know the symptoms caused by the virus and ones caused by organ failure.
“Through the long COVID clinic, we provide care to patients and monitor the response level of their immunity while finding solutions to questions they have on long COVID,” he said.
On whether Nigeria should change the case definition of COVID-19, Akase said it is not necessary.
According to the expert, case definition for long COVID-19 is easy to identify from COVID-19.
“COVID-19 symptoms of coughing, sneezing, sore throats, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste are still the same.
However, people experience it in different dimensions.
“What needs to change is our message to people; they need to know that whether they have a mild or severe COVID-19, they can still have long COVID-19, and if they do, they should know about getting help,” he said.
Akase said that common symptoms of long COVID can include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, body aches, neurologic, cardiac and kidney issues, among others.
He said that protection from long COVID means protecting oneself and others from COVID-19 infection in the first place.
Akase advised members of the public to ensure regular washing of hands and wearing of facemask, adding that they should embrace COVID-19 vaccines