Covid-19 patients can now opt for home isolation: Here're govt guidelines

"Very mild/ presymptomatic patients having the requisite facility at his/her residence for self-isolation will have the option for home isolation," it said

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Monday said that very mild or presymptomatic Covid-19 patients will have the option to opt for home isolation, given that his/ her residence has the facility to do so.

As per existing guidelines, during the containment phase, the patients should be identified as very mild, mild, moderate or severe and accordingly admitted to Covid Care Centre or dedicated Covid hospital. "However, very mild/ presymptomatic patients having the requisite facility at his/her residence for self-isolation will have the option for home isolation," the government said in a statement.

Who can go for home isolation?

Those who have been clinically assigned as a very mild case/ pre-symptomatic case by the treating medical officer. However, they need to fill in an undertaking on self-isolation agreement before doing so.

• They should have the required facility for self-isolation at home and also for quarantining the family contacts
• A caregiver should be appointed on 24 x7 basis, who will have to maintain communication with the hospital for the entire duration of home isolation.
• The caregiver and all close contacts of such cases should take Hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis as per protocol
• The Arogya Setu App should remain active at all times
• The patient will have to monitor his health and regularly inform the District Surveillance Officer of his health status for further follow up by the surveillance teams.

Those in home isolation are also advised to seek immediate medical attention if there are serious signs or symptoms like difficulty in breathing, persistent pain/ pressure in the chest, mental confusion or inability to arouse, developing bluish discolorations of lips/face. 

Guidelines for caregivers and close contacts

The caregivers are adviced to wear a mask, practice hand hygiene rigorously before and after removing gloves and use alcohol based hand rub. They have also been told to "avoid direct contact with body fluids of the patient, particularly oral or respiratory secretions. Use disposable gloves while handling the patient."

The caregiver and all close contact also need to self-monitor their health and perform daily temperature checks and report promptly if they develop any symptom suggestive of Covid-19. 

Meanwhile, the patients have been adviced to wear a triple-layer medical mask at all times, and discard it every 8 hours after disinfecting it. They have been asked to take rest and drink a lot of fluids to maintain hydration, stay away from the elderly in the designated room, practice hand hygine and respiratory etiquettes.

Read full guidelines here