In a bid to encourage COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms to stay at home and undergo treatment, the Telangana government has been distributing home isolation kits.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been tasked with the responsibility of distributing the kits. The GHMC says it has procured 20,000 home isolation kits and it has already distributed 15,000 kits. The GHMC has 5,000 kits readily available for distribution. Officials also mentioned that as per the requirement procurement will be done.
Explaining the contents of a home isolation kit, Lokesh Kumar, GHMC commissioner, said, “As per the Central Government guidelines every positive person should be in home isolation for a period of 17 days. According to that, each kit containing 9 items is being distributed for early recovery. The kit contains: Vitamin-C tablets -34 , Zinc Tablets- 17, B Complex tablets-17 , Sanitizer bottle-1, Liquid Hand Wash - 1, Gloves- 2 pairs, Sodium Hypochlorite chemical and a brochure which has all the required details. Further details on guidelines and suggestions can be known by scanning the QR code on the kit’s cover.”
Contents of the home isolation kit
However, while the distribution of kits began a few months ago, a lot of people took to Twitter to say that many people they knew who were in home isolation hadn’t received them.
How do they deliver these? Know a friend who tested positive and no health department people have visited.
— Jasmine S (@urban_lens) July 12, 2020
Completely false info atleast in my area.
— CA Viswanath Toshniwal (@CAViswanathT) July 13, 2020
In our complex we have 6 positive cases out of which 4 are home isolated. None has received anything from state govt. So pls stop this false campaign
TNM also reached out to a few people who are presently in home isolation or have completed home isolation to check if they had received the government’s home isolation kits.
Mrs Singh*, a resident of Manikonda in Hyderabad, said, “My husband tested positive for the coronavirus on July 10. He was tested in a private lab. As he had only mild symptoms, he was asked to go into home isolation. Since then, we have received three calls in total. Two were from the police department to check about any issues and another was from the Arogya Setu team. We did not receive any isolation kit nor did anyone from GHMC get in touch with us.”
SN Reddy, a resident of Lothkunta, who had tested positive for the coronavirus finished his 17-day isolation two weeks ago. He said, “After I tested positive, as I was asymptomatic, they asked me to be in home isolation. For around 25 days I was in home isolation. I did not receive any home isolation kit from GHMC.”
Balakrishna, a resident of Mansoorabad, located in the LB nagar limits, tested positive on July 2. He was treated for six days in a private hospital in Gachibowli. After which he was recommended home isolation. He said, “On July 8, I got discharged and returned home. I am still in home isolation. Two weeks after I was discharged, I received the GHMC home isolation kit on Monday.”
S Suryateja, a resident of Kukatpally Housing Board Colony, said, “My cousin tested positive on June 25. He was then in home quarantine for 14 days. He received a call enquiring about his health condition from the government but did not receive any home isolation kit.”
Presently, the government has a database of patients who have COVID-19 but are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and have been ordered home isolation.
These home isolation kits are being distributed at their doorstep. Speaking about the mechanism, the commissioner said, “Zonal commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Medical Officer of Health of respective areas are distributing home isolation kits through health workers to the COVID-19 patients.”
* Name as requested