OVERVIEW

Coronavirus (is an infectious disease caused by a newly acquired coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience respiratory to moderate illness and recover without the need for special treatment. Older people and those with debilitating medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer may be more prone to severe illness.

The best way to prevent and slow down information transmission is about the virus, the disease it causes, and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using alcohol-based medicine, often without touching your face.

The virus is spread mainly through saliva droplets or runny nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it is essential that you re-practice the breathing practice (for example, by coughing on a flexible elbow).

PREVENTION

Here’s what you need to do to prevent infection and slow down COVID-19 transmission:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based scrubber to clean your hands.
• Maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between yourself and those who cough or sneeze.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Cover the mouth and nose with a cough and sneeze.
• Stay in the house if you feel unwell.
• Do not smoke and other activities that weaken your lungs.
• Practice physical distancing by avoiding unnecessary travel and remaining clear of large groups of people.

SYMPTOMS

Common symptoms fever, fatigue, and dry cough.

Other symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
• Pain and soreness.
• Sore throat
• And very few individuals report diarrhea, nausea, or runny nose.

Who Should Get Tested?

Suspect case

A patient with a history of travel or residence in China within the last 14 days preceding symptoms; severe acute respiratory infection (fever, cough, and requiring hospital admission)

Patient with acute respiratory disease and one or more of the following symptoms during the 14 days preceding the onset of symptoms:

Contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 illness.

He worked in a health care setting where patients with a confirmed or probable acute respiratory disease of COVID-19 were being treated.

An anxious person is trying to rule out the new coronavirus.

An approved physician refers patients.

Get Tested Before Your Flight

Here’s what you need to know to get tested before you fly internationally. Get tested with a viral test 1-3 days before your journey and still no more than three days before your return flight internationally. Clinlab approved for all kind covid-19 PCR test.

• Be sure to get the test results before you leave.
• If you are awaiting the results, reschedule your trip.
• Do not travel if the test result is positive; isolate yourself immediately and follow public health guidelines.
• Negative testing does not mean that you have not been or will not be exposed to COVID-19.

Make sure to wear a mask, avoid crowds, stay at least six feet/2 meters (about two arm lengths) from others, wash your hands, and watch your health for signs of illness while traveling.

What kind of test is used to identify a current COVID-19 infection?

Two tests can indicate if you currently have COVID-19 RT-PCR (considered Gold Standard this is the most accurate test, but it can take 24-72 hours, or in some cases, even more, to get results because the samples need to be analyzed in a suitable laboratory.

Antigen tests: these tests are usually quicker, the results are returned as quickly as 30 minutes, but they are not as accurate as of the RT-PCR tests. This means that the test may not get all the infections, so there is a chance that some people with COVID-19 may experience side effects (called false tests). Similarly, there is also the possibility that a person infected with a virus, such as the common cold virus, may be tested for COVID (also called a test-positive test).

In some countries, antibody tests may also be available. This test tells you if you had virus some time ago, so it should NOT be used to test if you have active disease. Antibody tests show that you have a specific protein in your blood that is made when your body fights COVID like a virus in the past. However, there is a possibility that a positive effect means that you have antibodies from the same family of viruses as COVID-19, such as those that cause the common cold. Clinlab has both types of test facilities.

How is the test administered? Is it painful?

An RT-PCR test with an antigen, a doctor, nurse, or lab specialist puts a small, flexible, cotton swab around your nose to collect a sufficient sample of your mucous. The swab is kept in place for a few seconds before it is correctly rotated as it is removed and closed with a pipe for submission to the board for analysis. Swabs may be required on both noses to collect enough mucus in the test. It can be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt too much.

Get your covid-19 PCR test at your doorstep with full safety equipment by clinlab Lahore.