BENGALURU: The State government is likely to come up with a new SOP for mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, with senior epidemiologists and health experts on Thursday suggesting ‘home isolation’ as an option. Dr Giridhara R Babu, senior epidemiologist and member of the Covid-19 technical analysis committee of Karnataka, said that “since a complete lockdown is not the solution now, introducing home isolation, which every country has followed, will be the best way to ensure that deaths do not happen”.
There is a difference between home quarantine and home isolation. BBMP has come up with an SOP where primary and secondary contacts of Covid patients remain in home quarantine unless they test positive. However, home isolation means a positive patient who is mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic will remain at home with stringent monitoring and a pulse oximeter, which can reduce the burden of deaths.
“There is no sense of urgency in the private sector even now. The government has notified 50 per cent of their beds, but some wellknown hospitals have only reserved around 30 beds for Covid, despite having more than 1,000 beds. Bengaluru needs private facilities and medical colleges now,” a public health expert asked. The government had recently notified several Covid Care Centres (CCC), beds in private hospitals and medical colleges to handle patients, yet it won’t be enough, say experts.
While the central ministry has come up with revised guidelines for home isolation, the state expert committee also has detailed and advanced norms ready, but which are on hold, sources said. Health and family welfare Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, “The time has not come for that yet. We are not thinking about it now.”
Dr M K Sudarshan, former HoD of community medicine at KIMS Hospital, Bengaluru, and chairman of a committee to analyse Covid-19 data, said: “The time will come soon, when we have to opt for home isolation. Right now, our priority is CCC, which provide supervised medical care with bed facilities, medicines, ambulance, healthcare staff and other services.”
A senior doctor said home isolation is a tedious process. “Patients have to submit an ‘undertaking’ and an officer has to visit the house and ensure it is fit for isolation, with a separate room and toilet. A medical officer will have to be assigned to validate that the patient is mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, the caregiver is not positive, is available 24x7 and takes prophylaxis treatment. Families, neighbours have to be convinced, patients have to monitor their health and seek medical attention if they experience difficulty in breathing, chest pain, etc.”
Dr Giridhara Babu argues that CCC is a good idea, but the government will not have enough manpower for it. “Home isolation is a huge responsibility which involves communication and monitoring, but we will have to do it. Instead of delaying this, it is better to do it now,” he said.
“Pulse oximeter has to be provided for all patients. The government can take it back once they recover. But this is an easy and crucial tool to monitor oxygen levels.” Dr CN Manjunath, director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, said, “This could be considered for healthcare workers, people with big houses and additional rooms.”