Health care workers deliver care in the emergency and outpatients setting are on the front lines of the healthcare system every day. Serious communicable diseases like TB, COVID-19, MERS, measles, and viral hemorrhagic fever can access health care facilities at any point of time and pose a risk of transmission to patients, staff, and visitors. Effective screening and isolation of potentially infectious patients especially those at risk for droplet or airborne transmission is essential to ensure appropriate precautions on arrival. It is essential in the process of minimizing the exposure risk at the outpatient settings to ensure that preventive measures are routinely in place including triaging of potential contagious patients with fever and other clinical syndromes as described in this guideline.

This guidance will assist Health institutions in developing protocols for screening (triage) and early containment management of potential infectious patients at the point of entry to healthcare.