Count nears 30K, home quarantine for mild cases

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, April 28

The government today said very mild or pre-symptomatic Covid-19 patients can home quarantine if they have the requisite residential facility to isolate themselves and their family contacts.

This will be a major relaxation to the existing quarantine norms which require all suspected (awaiting test results) and confirmed cases of Covid-19 to be isolated in a hospital setting.

With the health infrastructure under strain and disease containment showing some positive signs, the government has decided to let people home quarantine under stipulated conditions.

The change came as India’s case count reached 29,973 with 1,593 additional cases in a day; and death toll touching 937 with 51 deaths in a day. In all, 7,026 persons have recovered with the cure rate rising to 23.44 pc in steady improvement.

According to the guidelines, the person in home isolation would have to sign a self-isolation form. Also, the patient and caregiver would need to wear triple-layered masks for protection. The patient’s mask must be discarded after eight hours and after it has been disinfected.

Strict hand and respiratory hygiene must be followed by the patient with no sharing of belongings or utensils.

“The caregiver and all close contacts of home-quarantined cases should take hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis as per protocol. The patient shall agree to monitor his health and regularly inform his health status to the District Surveillance Officer for follow-up by the surveillance teams,” the guidelines say.

They add that the patient must seek immediate medical attention in case of difficulty in breathing, persistent pain/pressure in the chest, mental confusion or inability to arouse and bluish discolouration of lips or face.

Home isolation will end once the symptoms are clinically resolved and the doctor certifies the patient is infection-free post lab tests.

Caregivers would also need to follow hand hygiene, avoid direct exposure to patient and self-monitor health parameters along with other family members. The patient would need to remain in touch with surveillance teams at helpline number 1075.

The Health Ministry, meanwhile, cautioned that there could be life-threatening complications if proper guidelines were not followed in administering the plasma therapy.

The therapy works on the principle that immunity can be transferred from a healthy person to a sick patient using antibodies in convalescent plasma. Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, “If plasma therapy is not used in a proper manner under proper guidelines then it can also cause life-threatening complications.” As of today, 17 districts have not reported new Covid cases in 28 days.

New guidelines

• Home quarantine in ‘very mild’ cases
• Must have requisite residential facility
• 24X7 caregiver must stay in touch with hospital
• Must download Aarogya Setu app
• Triple-layered masks for patient & caregiver
• Patient’s mask to be discarded after 8 hrs
• Strict hand, respiratory hygiene, no sharing of belongings or utensils.

NITI employee tests positive, office sealed

The Niti Aayog building in the Capital has been sealed for 48 hours after an employee tested positive for Covid-19. The authorities have asked all those working with him to self-quarantine. “NITI Aayog is following all due protocols necessary as per the Ministry of Health guidelines. The building has been sealed,” it said. TNS

36 security men quarantined

A day after a regular employee of the Supreme Court was found Covid positive, 36 security personnel who had come in contact with him were quarantined on Tuesday. They were part of court security. TNS

15 ‘high caseload’ areas

• 15 places, including Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, are “high caseload” areas
• India’s success in battling the virus is dependent on how these cities perform
• Of these 15 places, seven districts show particularly high case volumes
• These are: Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai & Delhi