New algorithm expends coronavirus testing, Infectious Disease Hospital director says

According to the newly developed algorithm, people who have either symptoms of disease or a history of risky behavior will be tested for coronavirus, Tengiz Tsertsvadze, director of Tbilisi Infectious Disease Hospital, said on Tuesday evening.

He said the new algorithm is completely different from the existed one. The hospital director told Rustavi 2 TV that

“The testing was previously limited only to those who had symptoms of acute respiratory infection with or without fever and were the second necessary condition for this person was having some risk behaviors – travel history to high-risk countries for the last 14 days, or being in contact with a person/persons from these countries or any sick person/persons. Others were not tested. This was completely enough during the containment phase, when all infected contacts were identified and investigated.

Now, when we have the cases of internal transmission, and in some cases an infected patient fails to name a possible source of his/her infection this protocol has significantly been changed.

Three packages were created in the new algorithm: the first remained unchanged, that is, those who has previously been the subjects of testing will still remain under the new algorithm.

The second package - asymptomatic individuals, but with risk behaviors, for example, the person has no symptoms but claims that he or she traveled to Italy or hosted Italian guests or was in contact with the sick person. This person is also the subject to examination from now on.

The third package is for those who have symptoms but no risk factors. Anyone who feels sick with fever, cough, sore throat, but has not been in contact with an infected person and has not traveled to any country will also be tested for coronavirus, “ Tengiz Tsertsvadze said.