Why people recovering from coronavirus still need care

By Thursday, a total of 20 people had been discharged from hospital in Uganda after recovering from coronavirus. The confirmed coronavirus cases currently stand at 55. The affected patients are admitted to different health facilities with some reported to be responding well to treatment.

Despite recovering and being discharged, these people should not be left to figure out the next step of their lives alone. They need post-care.

Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the acting deputy executive director of Mulago National Referral Hospital (supervises some of the medical team handling the coronavirus cases), says they are not abandoning people who recover.

“Before their release, we thoroughly counsel our recovered patients and advise them to continue observing the preventive measures (such as handwashing and social distancing) to flatten the coronavirus curve,” Dr Byanyima says.

Review
She notes that they are encouraging former patients to continue going for review to monitor their recovery.
For those who might find it difficult to go for the reviews due to lack of transport means, Dr Byanyima says they will instead check on them.

“Tracing them should not be difficult because we have their contacts and addresses as well as those of a few family members,” she says.

Dr Byanyima adds that the medical team, including doctors, counsellors and psychologists handling the after-care of recovered patients are continuing to observe the doctor-patient confidentiality.

Yesterday, the Worldometer, a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics, reported 523,365 global recoveries (the number keeps growing). These statistics are from 210 countries and territories around the world.

The World Health Organisation has previously stated that they need more data from recovered patients to understand their anti-body response, whether that gives them immunity and for how long.

Challenges recovered patients face
Mr Eddie Tinka Mugisa, a psychologist at Bristol College of Management and Health Sciences, says although some Ugandans have now recovered, they still need continuous psychosocial care.

“Despite the fact that these recovered patients have been told they are now okay, some may continue doubting their health status. They will be wondering whether they are truly fine,” Mr Mugisa says. He also says some of them may self-stigmatise even before the community begins treating them that way.

In the end, he says they become isolated, anxious, cautious and self-aware wondering if people know about their previous condition, which is psychologically and socially challenging.

“For such reasons, I recommend the now recovered sufferers to stay in touch with their mental health carers in case they received psychological care while they were being treated for Covid-19 as well as dedicate a lot of time taking care of themselves, socially, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” Mr Mugisa says.

“Some of the things one can do is physical exercise, achieve good nutrition, learn new skills and habits, connect or reconnect to their spirituality, among others,” he adds.

Mr Mugisa also advises them to keep in touch with trusted family members and friends during the recovery period. And in case one continues feeling depressed or sad, they should reach out to professional psychologists, psychiatrists and counsellors.
Alternatively, one can reach out to a trusted religious leader of a faith they belong to, including sheikhs, priests, reverends and pastors.

Why family members need counselling
Mr David Kavuma, a counselling psychologist at Mildmay Uganda, notes that family members of people who have recovered from the virus also need counselling.

“After the patient recovers, they return home to their respective families. But if the family members are still ignorant about the disease, there are chances of some of them isolating or stigmatising the patient,” Mr Kavuma says.

“Some family members become traumatised by the reality that they are now staying with someone who once had coronavirus,” he adds.
The pyscologist says for such reasons, it is important that counselling services are extended to family members, relatives and friends of the person who has recovered.

“Since I have heard that the Ministry of Health is continuing to do follow-ups of individuals who have recovered from coronavirus, it should not forget their families. The ministry should extend counselling services for a period of time to their respective loved ones to give them reassurance as well as a piece of mind,” Mr Kavuma says.

Since there are a number of platforms disseminating information on Covid-19, Mr Kavuma advises both recovered patients and their family members to be cautious and distinguish between right and wrong material.

“There is a lot of information out there on Covid-19. Be very careful. Don’t always take material shared on these different social media platforms as gospel truth. You might read something that will traumatise you,” he says.
Mr Kavuma advises recovered patients and their family members to mostly adhere to information issued by the ministry, government, the President and health workers.