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Covid-19: Govt revises home isolation guidelines

Elderly patients aged more than 60 and with comorbidities should be allowed home isolation only after proper evaluation.

By Telangana Today

Published Date - 29 April 2021, 10:27 PM

Covid-19: Govt revises home isolation guidelines — Representational image

Hyderabad: The Union Health Ministry has issued revised guidelines for home isolation of mild/asymptomatic Covid-19 cases advising against attempting to procure or administer Remdesivir injections at home and emphasising that it should be administered only in a hospital setting.

The guidelines also said there was no need for testing after the home isolation period is over. According to the guidelines, asymptomatic cases are lab-confirmed cases that are not experiencing any symptoms and have oxygen saturation of more than 94 per cent at room air and mild cases are the ones with upper respiratory tract symptoms (and or fever) with the same oxygen saturation.

Elderly patients aged more than 60 and with comorbidities should be allowed home isolation only after proper evaluation. Other patients should be isolated away from other family members. Temperature and oxygen saturation should be monitored regularly.

Systemic oral steroids are not indicated in mild cases and if symptoms (fever, cough, etc) persist beyond seven days, the treating doctor should be consulted for treatment with low-dose steroids.

According to the guidelines, patients may gargle with warm water or take steam inhalation twice a day, along with taking Paracetamol, Ivermectin based on doctor’s advice and inhalation of Budesonide in case of worsening cough.

The patient should be kept in well-ventilated rooms, with open windows and a caregiver should be available 24×7 and should have access to a hospital/doctor. The caregiver and all close contacts of such cases should take Hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis in accordance with the protocol. Sanitisation of commonly touched surfaces should be done with a one-per cent hypochlorite solution.

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