RAIPUR: On a pilot basis, the Chhattisgarh government has allowed asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to undergo treatment in isolation at home, a health official said on Saturday.
In a letter to all district collectors on Friday, the state's Health Secretary Niharika Barik Singh said the district administration can allow `C' (asymptomatic) category COVID-19 patients to remain in home isolation, he said.
The health department also released a detailed set of conditions and guidelines which will have to be fulfilled before putting any patient in home isolation, he said.
Initially, 285 coronavirus positive patients across 28 districts -- 50 of them from Raipur district -- will be allowed to undergo treatment at home.
A 24X7 call center and control room will be set up in every district to monitor the treatment of these patients.
Before allowing home isolation and treatment, a district administration team will inspect the house.
A house where a patient is to be kept should be at least a 3BHK (bedroom-hall-kitchen) one with sufficient cross-ventilation and separate toilet-bathrooms.
But a COVID-19 patient suffering from serious ailments such as heart disease or cancer or those who are living alone shall not be put in home-isolation.
A red sticker with required information will be pasted on the front of a house where a COVID-19 patient has been isolated.
If the patient develops breathing trouble, constant pain in the chest or head or any other complication, he or she will be immediately shifted to a COVID hospital.
A rapid action team will be on stand-by for this purpose.
If the patient/family members violate the isolation- protocol they will be shifted to COVID Care Center and will face action under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the official said.
As of Friday, Chhattisgarh had reported 9,192 coronavirus cases, including 2,908 active patients and 54 deaths.