Bhubaneswar: Following revised home isolation guidelines for very mild symptomatic and asymptomatic Covid-19 cases, the state government has allowed such patients to go for home isolation.
During a presser here Monday, Additional Chief Secretary-Health, PK Mohapatra said patients with mild symptoms of Covid-19 or asymptomatic cases will be allowed to stay in home isolation after being certified by a local medical officer.
“In case of patients with mild Covid -19 symptoms and if they have been certified by a medical officer in urban areas, s/he is eligible for home isolation with the condition that s/he would strictly follow the restrictions. The patient having requisite facility at his/her home for self-isolation will have the option of home quarantine,” Mohapatra said.
The patient will have to fill in an undertaking on self-isolation and follow home quarantine guidelines. The patient also must have the facility for quarantining his family and contacts. S/he must have a separate room and a separate toilet, he said. Such individuals will be eligible for home isolation, otherwise, the patient will be sent to a dedicated hospital.
Before being allowed to stay in home quarantine, the person will be stamped on the hand and a band will be tied on his wrist. A quarantine sticker will also be pasted on his house, the ACS said. A care giver should be available to provide care on a 24×7 basis and there should be a communication link between the caregiver and the hospital during the entire duration of home isolation, sources said.
In case the patient develops serious symptoms including difficulty in breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, mental confusion or inability to arouse and develop bluish discolorations of lips or face, the care giver will immediately seek medical attention.
The home isolation will end after 17 days of onset of symptoms (or date of sampling, for pre-symptomatic cases) and if no fever occurs for consecutive 10 days, sources said. In the first phase, patients in urban areas will be allowed for home isolation. Later, if requests come in, the government will extend it to other areas.
Similarly, the state government has also revised the policy for discharge of Covid-19 patients. For mild, very mild and pre-symptomatic cases, the patient will now be discharged after 10 days of the onset of symptoms and no fever for three days. There is no need for testing prior to discharge. However, patients have to follow home isolation for a further period of 14 days after discharge. “As nearly 90 per cent of our cases are asymptomatic, the government has taken this step so that serious patients can get hospital care,” Mohapatra added.
