MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine health authorities: Rhinitis and nasal congestion may also herald a covid-19 infection

Any person with two or more of the listed symptoms must be isolated pending tests

Argentina's Health Ministery has announced new guidelines are to be observed towards the detection of covid-19 cases. Rhinitis and nasal congestion are hereafter signs of potential coronavirus infections, it was announced.

The two new symptoms were added to a fever of 37.5 ° C or more; cough; throat pain; difficulty breathing; headache; muscle pain; plus diarrhoea and/or vomiting, the official news agency Telam said citing health authorities.

The addition of rhinitis and nasal congestion as symptoms to define a suspected case of coronavirus was agreed with the directors of the epidemiology of all jurisdictions in the country, it was officially reported.

From now on, a suspected case of Covid-19 is considered to be any person, of any age, who presents two or more of the following symptoms: fever of 37.5 ° C or more; cough; throat pain; difficulty breathing; Headache; Muscle pain; diarrhoea and/or vomiting and rhinitis/nasal congestion, in addition to the sudden loss of taste or smell, it was announced.

Health authorities insisted that if a person is a likely cause of coronavirus, they must be isolated until the suspicion is confirmed or discarded.

In addition to the isolation, patients must notify everyone they have had contact with from the 48 hours before the onset of symptoms and said people should also be isolated and the local health authorities.

If a SARS-CoV-2 infection is ruled out, isolation may be lifted but should it be confirmed, patients must stay isolated until duly discharged by a medical professional whose recommendations must be followed.

The Ministry also stressed that “compliance with isolation measures in the face of suspicion of Covid-19 is essential to contribute to the reduction of the transmission of the virus in a context of high circulation of the same throughout the country.”