COVID-19: Measures to take during home quarantine

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issued a set of guidelines for those who may have come in close contact with a person infected, or suspected to have been infected, with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

The guidelines talked about the measures a person who has been quarantined at home should take.

The ministry defined a contact as a healthy person who had an association with an infected person or a contaminated environment and was at a higher risk of having COVID-19.

The guidelines stated that such a person should stay in a well-ventilated single-room, preferably with an attached/ separate toilet. She should maintain a distance of at least one metre with any other person in the house.

According to the guidelines:

• The person must stay away from elderly, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities
• Under no circumstances should she attend any social/religious gatherings
• She should not attend to any visitor and avoid sharing items with other people
• She should change mask every six-eight hours, dispose of used masks by burning or deep burial
• The used mask must be disinfected using ordinary bleach solution (5%) or sodium hypochlorite solution (1%) before being disposed of
• Only one family member should be assigned to take care of the quarantined person and she should avoid shaking soiled linen. The caregiver should frequently disinfect surfaces daily with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and should wear disposable gloves
• The clothes and other linen used by the person should be cleaned separately

The home-quarantine period lasts for 14 days from the day of contact with a confirmed or suspected case.

In case the quarantined person becomes symptomatic, people whom she came in contact with would have to be home quarantined for 14 days, except in cases where the person tests negative of COVID-19.

If symptoms such as cough, fever, difficulty in breathing persist, the person should immediately inform the nearest health centre or call 011-23978046.