#STUDY: Case Definitions for Coronavirus Disease


Posted on: Thu 14-01-2021

SUSPECTED CASE

  • (Symptoms with international travel) Any person with acute respiratory illness (fever and either cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath) OR new respiratory symptoms without fever (cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath) and no other explanation, AND a history of travel to or residence in a country reporting COVID-19 within 14 days prior to symptom onset; OR
  • (Symptoms with contact to confirmed case) Any person with new respiratory symptoms (cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, with or without fever), AND had contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case (see definition of contact) in the last 14 days prior to symptom onset;        

OR 

  • Acute respiratory illness in an area of moderate or high COVID-19 prevalence with no other explanation) Any patient with acute respiratory illness within the last 10 days (fever and either cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath); AND in absence of an alternative diagnosis that explains the clinical presentation AND residing or working in the last 14 days in an area identified by NCDC as a moderate or high prevalence region.   

PROBABLE CASE

Any suspected case: 

  • For whom testing for COVID-19 is indeterminate test results OR
  • For whom testing was positive on a pan-coronavirus assay OR
  • Where samples were not collected before the demise of a suspect case

CONFIRMED CASE

Any person with laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection with or without signs and symptoms.

CONTACT

A contact is a person who experienced any one of the following exposures during the 2 days before and the 14 days after the onset of symptoms of a probable or confirmed case: 

  1. Face-to-face contact with a probable or confirmed case within 1 metre and for more than 15 minutes; 
  2. Direct physical contact with a probable or confirmed case; 
  3. Direct care for a patient with probable or confirmed COVID-19 disease without using proper personal protective equipment; OR 
  4. Other situations as indicated by local risk assessments. Contact CONFIRMED CASE 

Note: for confirmed asymptomatic cases, the period of contact is measured as the 2 days before, through the 14 days after the date on which the sample was taken which led to confirmation.