THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking note of the incident in which a healthcare worker in Kottayam tested positive for Covid-19, directives were issued to healthcare workers (HCWs) to follow standard precautions while engaging in patient care. It was the State Medical Board, constituted to control and prevent Covid-19 in Kerala, that came out with the warning.
It is for the first time a healthcare worker contracted the virus while caring for Covid-19 patients since the state started reporting positive cases from January 30. The Health Department has decided to circulate guidelines on rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to HCWs in hospital and community settings and to those in home quarantine. The department is of the assessment that as the shortage of PPE will put the entire HCWs at risk, the need to use it judiciously has to be disseminated to all sections.
“A healthcare worker testing positive and that too due to attending patients with Covid-19 is a serious issue. The department will examine what went wrong and how such an incident occurred. Also, there are concerns that the frontline HCWs might run into low self-confidence over fears of inadequate protective equipment,” said a senior officer of the department.
The duration of home quarantine depends on risk assessment. The board has also recommended testing all HCWs who are either primary or high-risk secondary contacts at the end of 14 days of quarantine to ascertain the absence of viral shedding. Based on this result, the duration of quarantine will get decided.
Guidelines for use of PPE
The department has also decided to issue the guidelines provided by the Union Health Ministry on the use of PPE. The components of PPE are goggles, face-shield, mask, gloves, coverall/gowns (with or without aprons), headcover and shoe cover.
“It is meant for staff in outpatient department, inpatient services, emergency department, ambulance services and supportive services like laboratory, mortuary and others. It will also cover HCWs in the community setting, including Asha/Anganwadi workers, doctors conducting field investigations and at quarantine facility,” said an officer of the Health Department.
As per the guideline, those at the emergency setting attending emergency cases fall under the ‘moderate risk category’ and the recommended PPE for them includes N 95 mask and gloves. For those attending severe acute respiratory illness patients, they are categorised as high-risk ones, and full components of PPE are recommended. Whereas for those in home quarantine, the recommended PPE is a triple layer mask.