Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in Coimbatore to be in Care Centres for a week
In the backdrop of rising number of COVID-19 cases in Coimbatore district, the administration has reportedly decided to not permit any person who tests positive for the coronavirus, to remain in home isolation. Till now, asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 were given an option to isolate themselves in their own houses if they had enough facilities to do so.
According to a report in The Hindu, the decision to do away with home quarantine came after district officials got several tip offs that those who had tested positive for coronavirus were violating isolation rules and moving around on the streets. Henceforth, even asymptomatic people who test positive for the coronavirus will be asked to spend a week in COVID Care Centres after which another test will be taken to ascertain their condition.
These patients will be allowed to move out of the COVID care centres only if the swab samples return negative, after which they will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day home quarantine, so that the total period that they isolate for is 14 days.
However, the decision will not be applicable to the persons who are already under home isolation after testing positive for novel coronavirus. The report also said that since the number of COVID-19 cases in the district is on the rise in the recent past and is only increasing, the mobilisation of manpower to monitor all persons under home isolation is becoming a tough job.
Meanwhile, the District Collector met representatives of private diagnostic laboratories in Coimbatore and directed them to recalibrate their devices to avoid differences in test results. This comes days after a positive test result by one private lab was overturned by another private lab in the city, which caused several people to raise questions on the testing standards followed by private labs.
He also ordered the labs to maintain clear records of samples taken from persons belonging to other districts and those from Coimbatore.