State Govts warned against laxity in following home isolation guidelines on corona prevention

NEW DELHI, June 20: The Health Ministry on Friday cautioned the State Governments against any laxity in following the guidelines for the home isolation of coronavirus patients and suspects issued by the Ministry last month.

“Instances have been noticed wherein home isolation is allowed in a routine manner in certain States, and clauses of the Revised Guidelines are not followed in letter and spirit,” Luv Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, said in a letter to all State Governments.

Agarwal pointed out that home isolation can be assigned only after physical assessment of the patient’s residential premises to ensure a separate room with toilet facilities for him and access to a dedicated caregiver.

He attributed the recent sudden spurt in cases to violation of the guidelines by the States. The Ministry has noted with concern that in some States permission for home isolation is granted in a routine style and the clauses of the notification are not followed.

As per the guidelines, patients with mild symptoms and those asymptomatic can opt for home isolation if they have separate rooms and separate toilets and a caregiver. They must inform the district surveillance officer about their health condition from time to time. The entire arrangements should be approved by the examining doctor. An undertaking that he will adhere to the guidelines has to be filled in by the patient.

Before assigning to a medical facility, a suspect/confirmed case is categorised as either mild or moderate or severe and accordingly admitted to a

Covid care centre, or
Dedicated covid health centre, or
Dedicated covid hospital, respectively.

Very mild/pre-symptomatic patients having the requisite facility at his/her residence for self-isolation will have the option for home isolation, but on certain conditions.

Immediate medical attention must be sought if serious signs or symptoms develop during home isolation like difficulty in breathing, pain/pressure in the chest, mental confusion or inability to arouse, or developing bluish discolorations of lips/face.

Home isolation will end after 17 days of onset of symptoms and had no fever for 10 days. There is no need for testing after the home isolation period is over.

Instructions for the patient:

Patient should at all times use triple layer medical mask. Discard mask after 8 hours of use or earlier if they become wet or visibly soiled.
Mask should be discarded only after disinfecting it with 1% Sodium Hypo-chlorite.
Patient must stay in the identified room and away from other people in home, especially elderlies and those with co-morbid conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal disease etc.
Patient must take rest and drink lot of fluids to maintain adequate hydration
Follow respiratory etiquettes all the time.
Hands must be washed often with soap and water for at least 40 seconds or clean with alcohol based sanitizer.
Don’t share personal items with other people.
Clean surfaces in the room that are touched often (tabletops, door knobs, handles, etc) with 1% hypochlorite solution.
The patient must strictly follow the physician’s instructions and medication advice.
The patient will self-monitor his/her health with daily temperature monitoring and report promptly if develops any deterioration of symptom..