Home quarantine

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken the right step by allowing home quarantine for pre-symptomatic Covid-19 patients, or those with very mild symptoms, provided the stringent guidelines are met. Home isolation will end once the patient is certified as infection-free. At present, all suspected cases are quarantined in a hospital setting. The move would hopefully mitigate to a large extent the fear of getting oneself tested and wipe off the stigma that has sadly come to be associated with a coronavirus-positive status. The prospect of being shifted to a quarantine facility with less than favourable conditions and being called out for getting sick may have been holding back many with mild symptoms from coming out and having tests conducted.

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Where the ministry needs to quickly get its act together is on avoiding flip-flop directions that lead to confusion. The latest one is on plasma therapy. The nodal Central government department to tackle the pandemic now says it has not approved plasma therapy for treatment of coronavirus and that this should be used only for research and trial purposes till there is evidence to support its efficacy. Effective communication based on science and sticking to facts is what is required during briefings, not offering solace by pointing to unverified solutions and then backtracking.

Top experts have sent out repeated warnings that the undue stigma linked to the disease could result in patients with symptoms evading healthcare facilities, and in the process delaying supportive treatment, which could eventually result in higher morbidity in the country. Home quarantine could be a step forward in dealing with that worrying scenario, though experts are also quick to point out that self-isolation of the kind required to fight the virus is possible in not more than 15 per cent of Indian homes. As newer measures are put in place on a daily basis to deal with the crisis, the focus should remain on expansion of testing and timely procurement of Personal Protective Equipment.