Home-quarantined urged to follow curbs strictly to avoid transmission
ALAPPUZHA: Health officials in the district have urged people sent to home quarantine to strictly follow room quarantine norms. The officials made the plea after observing that several people who are advised to remain in quarantine are showing a lax attitude to the curbs, which may lead to the spread of Covid-19.
The situation has changed after the Centre reduced the compulsory institutional quarantine period for NRIs and those coming from other states from 14 days to seven. Three persons sent to home quarantine after seven days of institutional quarantine tested Covid positive in the district recently. The health department identified around 10 people as their primary and secondary contacts and put them under observation.
A Chengannur youth sent home after institutional quarantine tested positive. In another case, a couple from Thrikkunnapuzha arrived at Thiruvananthapuram airport from Abu Dhabi on May 31 and was shifted to a Covid care centre in Alappuzha. After one week, they were sent for home isolation. Their swab samples tested positive on Tuesday and they were shifted to Alappuzha MCH. Some health workers who came in contact with them had to be put under observation, said an official.
Many persons forget the seriousness of the situation when they are at home. “The government allows them to go into home quarantine for managing the increasing number of people in institutional quarantine. After a preliminary examination for virus infection, they are allowed to go home. It is not an assurance that they are free from Covid infection.
The swab samples of all persons arriving from foreign countries and other states would be examined at the National Institute of Virology here, which is the final authority to confirm the presence of virus,” he said. “A few people forget the norms of quarantine and they interact with family members. It would pose a risk to their family members and even to the community. Hence, the people in home quarantine should follow the norms strictly,” he added.