Bhubaneswar: April 28: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has issued guidelines for Home Isolation of very mild/pre-symptomatic COVID-19 cases.
As per the existing guidelines, during the containment phase, the patients should be clinically assigned as very mild/mild, moderate or severe and accordingly admitted to (i) COVID care center, (ii) Dedicated COVID Health center or (iii) Dedicated COVID Hospital respectively. However, very mild/pre-symptomatic patients having the requisite facility at his/her residence for Self-Isolation will have the option for Home Isolation.
Eligibility for Home Isolation:
The person should be clinically assigned as a very mild case/pre-symptomatic case by the treating Medical Officer.
Such cases should have requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and also for quarantining the family contacts.
A care giver should be available to provide care on 24X7 basis. A communication link between the care giver and hospital is a prerequisite for the entire duration of Home Isolation.
The care giver and all close contacts of such cases should take Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis as the protocol and as prescribed by the treating Medical officer.
Download Arogya Setu App on Mobile (available at: https://www.mygov.in/aarogya-setu-app/) and it should remain active at all times (through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi)
Also, the patient shall agree to monitor his health and regularly inform his health status to the district Surveillance officer for further follow up by the Surveillance teams.
The Patient will fill in an undertaking on self-isolation (Annexure-I) and shall follow home quarantine guidelines. Such individual shall be eligible for home isolation.
In addition to the guidelines on home quarantine available at: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Guidelines for home quarantine.pdf, required instructions for care giver and the patient as in Annexure-II shall be also followed.
The Guideline has also instructed ‘When to seek Medical attention’. As per the instruction, Patient/Care giver will keep monitoring their health. Immediate medical attention must be sought if the serious signs or symptoms develop. These could include difficulty in breathing,Persistent Pain/Pressure in the Chest, Mental Confusion or inability to arouse, developing bluish discolorations of lips/face and as advised by treating Medical Officer.
As per the Guideline regarding ‘When to discontinue Home Isolation’, Patients under Home Isolation will end Home Isolation if the symptoms are clinically resolved and the surveillance medical officer certifies him to be free of infection after laboratory testing.
