On Monday, the Union Health Ministry had issued new guidelines stating that only ‘pre-symptomatic Coronavirus patients or the ones with ‘very mild’ symptoms can opt for home isolation, after being clinically determined by a medical officer.
Importantly, the alternate arrangement of home isolation can only be available if the patient’s residence has required self-isolation facilities. This provision has been added to ensure that other members in the family are not infected by the deadly Chinese virus. Besides, the district surveillance officer needs to be regularly updated about the infected patient’s health status.
The patients have been advised to seek immediate medical attention in case of chest pain, difficulty in breathing, bluish discolouration of lips etc. Home isolation for pre-symptomatic cases can only be ended after being certified as ‘Coronavirus free’ by a surveillance medical officer, following laboratory tests.
Health & Family Welfare Ministry has issued guidelines for home isolation of people who either have very mild #COVID19 symptoms or are in the pre-symptomatic phase. Such patients with requisite self-isolation facility at their residence will now have the option for home isolation pic.twitter.com/c7KdGyabWP
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2020
Guidelines of the Health Ministry for Caregivers
As directed by the Health Ministry, the caregivers must take HCQ (HydroxyChloroquine) as a precautionary measure to protect themselves for the Wuhan Coronavirus. However, it must be taken as prescribed by a medical officer. They must be available 24/7 and communication with the hospital is mandatory during the complete period of home isolation.
India fights Coronavirus
On April 14, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that a total of 602 hospitals dedicated to Wuhan coronavirus treatment with 1,06,710 isolation beds and 12,024 Intensive Care Units had been set up across the country. Union Health Secretary, Luv Agarwal said, “The health ministry is continuously and rigorously working with States and Union Territories (UTs) to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country.”
According to the Health Ministry, 325 districts of India have remained unaffected by the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. Moreover, as reported on April 16, the country has achieved a recovery rate of 12%. India has 21,632 live cases of the Chinese virus and has recorded 934 deaths as of April 28.
On Tuesday, 28 April, India added 1594 news cases of coronavirus and 51 deaths. The total cases now stand at 29,974, with 7027 recoveries and 937 deaths.
