Mohali DC allays home-isolation fears

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 10

Allaying residents' fears caused by the rising number of Covid-19 patients in home isolation, Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan has said no critically ill or serious patients are placed under home quarantine. He has said it is only after due medical assessment and house inspection that patients are home-quarantined.

Dayalan said doctors analyse patients for co-morbidities and on finding them fit enough to recuperate at home, permit home quarantine. Similarly, after ascertaining the locality where the patient wants to be along with the availability of a separate room and washroom at his home, he/she is granted home-quarantine permission. Making an appeal to people not to panic in the wake of a patient home-quarantined in their neighbourhood, Dayalan said a person who did not require direct medical care could recuperate best in his house. thereby making room for critical patients in hospitals. “It is a well-deliberated mechanism adopted on the directions of the Centre and the state government for ensuring the right person in the right place,” he said, adding that “we need not panic on this account. The crisis period is a test of our human empathy and brotherhood”.

Meanwhile, the District Administration issued formal orders assigning responsibility to various government departments for the collection of bio-medical waste of Covid-19 patients in home isolation.

Dayalan said the Municipal Corporation and the nagar councils would be responsible for waste collection from all households of Covid-19 patients in their respective jurisdictions. He said BDPOs will cater to villages and GMADA will be responsible for arranging for bio-medical waste collection from urban areas outside the municipal limits.

Dayalan said a person placed under home quarantine was not supposed to come out of his premises so no direct threat of spread of infection existed. Each of the above departments would provide yellow-coloured waste disposal bags in sufficient quantity to the patient as soon as he is home-quarantined and thereafter arrange for daily garbage collection and disposal through the agency roped in by them, he added. As of now, sanitisation is being carried out in areas that fall in the Covid-19 clusters, micro-containment and containment zones. The DC said for public safety, they would now facilitate sanitisation of banks and other public institutions, who reach them for support on having detected a Covid-positive employee. Similarly, residential welfare associations, who seek to sanitise common use area of their building, where a Covid case surfaced or positive patient was home-quarantined, would be also be facilitated.

Medical kit

As solidarity and safety measure towards patients under home quarantine, along with the dedicated medical follow-up, the administration will provide a kit containing vitamin supplements, antipyretic medicine and a pulse oximeter to measure the blood oxygen level (SpO2) of the patient. The pulse oximeter would however be given only for quarantine period and the patient would have to return it on recovery.

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