The new protocol provides for the management of COVID-19 cases based on the clinical severity of mild, moderate or severe

Loss of smell and loss of taste have been included in the list of Covid-19 symptoms in an updated clinical management protocol released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms have been reported by patients at various Covid-19 treatment facilities, the protocol noted.

The other signs and symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, expectoration, myalgia, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and diarrhea.

According to the ministry, the new protocol provides for the management of COVID-19 cases based on the clinical severity of mild, moderate or severe. Infection prevention and control practices have also been specified according to the three stages of severity. These guidelines also specify investigational therapies for a defined subgroup of patients.

Older people and immune-suppressed patients in particular may present with atypical symptoms such as fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, delirium, and absence of fever. C

Children might not have reported fever or cough as frequently as adults.

As per data from the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)/ Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) portal case investigation forms for COVID 19 , the details on the signs and symptoms reported as on June 11 are:

  • Fever (27%)


  • Cough (21%)


  • Sore throat (10%)


  • Breathlessness (8%)


  • Weakness (7%)


  • Running nose (3%)


  • Others 24%.


The revised protocol came on a day that India recorded the highest single-day increase in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases - 11,458 - taking the total number to 3,08,993..

The positive trend of cured and recovered cases being more than the number of active cases, however, continued.

According to data released on Saturday morning by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there were 145,779 active cases of Covid-19 while a total of 154,330 people have recovered. The number of deaths reported stands at 8,884.

The number of recovered cases had gone above the number of active cases for the first time on June 10. There were 1,33,632 active Covid-19 cases, or patients who were undergoing treatment. The number of patients who had been cured, or had recovered, was, however, higher and stood at 1,35,206 on that day.


IVD Bureau