Coronavirus: Not sure about home quarantine, isolation? here's your guide

Union Health Ministry provided guidelines for home isolation of those showing signs of novel coronavirus

Delhi metro passenger wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. (Photo | Anil Shakya, EPS)

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare amid reports of several suspect patients of novel coronavirus slipping from hospitals and not observing quarantine protocols, on Saturday issued detailed home-isolation guidelines that needs to be observed by people possibly showing signs of infection but yet hospitalised.

The guidelines are also mean for their caregivers at home or people who have come into close contact with confirmed cases or the suspects awaiting lab confirmations. In the guidelines, the government said that “detection of travel related or unrelated suspect case of novel coronavirus will be followed by rapid isolation of such cases in designated health facilities and line listing of all contacts of such cases.” It added that home quarantine is applicable to all such contacts of a suspect or confirmed case of COVID-19.

This intervention will be limited to the initial phase of India reporting only in travel-related cases, focal clusters arising from a travel-related or unrelated case where cluster containment strategy is adopted or persons coming from COVID-19 affected areas where local and community transmission is evident. The guidelines defined “contact” as a healthy person that has been in association with an infected person or a contaminated environment as to have exposed and is therefore at a higher risk of developing the disease.

Additional funds Special Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health, Sanjeeva Kumar, said the states and Union Territories can now draw funds from the State Disaster Response Fund, in addition to the funds from the state government and the National Health Mission. The Ministry has issued detailed guidelines for the same.

A CONTACT IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 IS:

• A person living in the same household as a COVID-19 case;
• A person having had direct physical contact with a COVID-19case or his/her infectious secretions without recommended personal protective equipment or with a possible breach of PPE
• A person who was in a closed environment or had face to face contact with a COVID-19 case at a distance of within 1 metre including air travel.

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THE HOME QUARANTINED PERSON SHOULD:

• Stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached or separate toilet
• If another family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between the two.
• Needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household
• Restrict their movement within the house
• Under no circumstances attend any social or religious gatherings like wedding, condolences etc.
• Wash hand as often thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid sharing dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items with other people at home
• Wear a surgical mask at all the time 
• The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and disposed off
• Masks used by patients, care givers or close contacts during home care should be disinfected using ordinary bleach solution 
• If symptoms appear, they immediately inform the nearest health centre or call 011-23978046