What is a suspected case?
A person is labelled as a ‘suspected case’ if she meets either of the
following criteria24:
- A patient with acute respiratory illness (fever and at least one
sign/symptom of respiratory disease (e.g. cough, shortness of breath)
AND with no other etiology that fully explains the clinical
presentation AND a history of travel to or residence in a country/area
or territory reporting local transmission of COVID-19 infection during
the 14 days prior to symptom onset
- A patient with any acute respiratory illness AND who has been in
contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case (see definition of
contact below) in the 14 days prior to onset of symptoms
- A patient with severe acute respiratory infection (fever and at least
one sign/symptom of respiratory disease (e.g. cough, shortness breath)
AND requiring hospitalization AND with no other etiology that fully
explains the clinical presentation.