Coronavirus Outbreak: Government Lays Down Guidelines For Home Quarantine To Contain The Spread Of COVID-19

New Delhi: Amidst the worldwide spread of coronavirus and 81 confirmed cases in India, as of March 13 at 5 PM, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has prepared guidelines for home quarantine. These guidelines have been laid down after the Government of India announced that all passengers having travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany are advised to undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival.

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According to the guidelines, home quarantine shall be imposed on those people also who have been in contact with an infected person or a contaminated environment and are therefore at a higher risk of developing the disease.

The guidelines state that those who are taking refuge to home quarantine must stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached or a separate toilet. It adds that if another family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at least 1 metre between the two.

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The government advised, coronavirus patients to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household as their immune system may be low.

The Health Ministry has also suggested restricting the patient’s movement within the house. The guidelines say,

Under no circumstances can home quarantined person attend any social/religious gatherings like wedding, condolences among others.

The guidelines further instruct the coronavirus infected person to avoid sharing household items like dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items with other members at home. The guidelines also instruct the home quarantined person to wear a surgical mask all the time. It further says,

The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and disposed off. Disposable masks are never to be reused. Used mask should be considered as potentially infected.

Guidelines For Family Members

MoHFW has also laid down some guidelines that need to be followed by the family members of the people in home quarantine. The guidelines say,

Only one family member should be tasked with taking care of such person and everyone must avoid direct contact with skin contact with the things used by the person like linen.

The ministry advises family members to use disposable gloves and restrict visitors.

It also says that in case the person being quarantined becomes symptomatic, all his close contacts will be home quarantined (for 14 days) and followed up for an additional 14 days or till the report of such case turns out negative on lab testing.

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