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  • 2021-07-20 (xsd:date)
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  • Beware! Details in viral message about Discovery Health and oxygen tanks for Covid-19 patients misleading and dangerous (en)
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  • Please let anyone that is on Discovery medical aid know that they can have an oxygen tank delivered to their house for a month if their oxygen levels are under 80, says a viral WhatsApp message . The same message has been shared on Facebook in South Africa. Discovery Health is a medical aid scheme provider in South Africa. Medical aid provides financial cover for medical expenses for members who pay a monthly contribution for this cover , including healthcare costs such as hospitalisation, treatments and medicine. The viral post goes on to say that patients must have their doctors send a script through to Ecomed or Vitalaire and photos of their medical aid card and oxygen levels. Then they will be able to access this hospital at home benefit for stage 2 COVID patients. South Africa is in its third wave of Covid-19 infections. The government has raised concerns about the rising rate of hospital admissions which stood at 16,742 on 19 July 2021. A lack of hospital beds could lead people to use oxygen tanks at home to treat Covid-19. But Discovery Health told us that this claim is misleading. Discovery Health says post is misleading Dr Noluthando Nematswerani, head of the centre for clinical excellence at Discovery Health , told Africa Check: The post that was circulating on social media – Facebook and WhatsApp – about the Covid-19 benefits is misleading, specifically on oxygen levels. Oxygen concentrators or cylinders are covered for a one-month period when a patient’s saturation level is 88% to 90%, as part of the Discovery hospital at home offering, Nematswerani said. An oxygen concentrator must be requested by a medical doctor and oxygen levels measured using a pulse oximeter . But patients with oxygen levels lower than 88% are not suitable for admission in the home setting and are best managed in a hospital facility, she said. Patients with oxygen levels lower than 90% should go to hospital The World Health Organization advises that anyone with an abnormal oxygen saturation level contact their doctor immediately. An oxygen saturation of 95 to 100% is normal for healthy children and adults, says t he US Centers for Disease Control . But patients with an oxygen saturation level below 90% need oxygen therapy and should immediately contact their doctor or go to hospital. (en)
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