How home quarantine is helping Kerala cope with increasing COVID-19 cases

The state allowed home care for asymptomatic patients and had issued guidelines for the same on August 7.
COVID-19 Home quarantine
COVID-19 Home quarantine
Written by:

The Kerala government’s decision to allow asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to remain in home isolation instead of institutional isolation has yielded positive results, officials have told TNM. The state of Kerala on August 7 shifted its strategy for the treatment of novel coronavirus patients, allowing asymptomatic patients to be at home. Since then, districts have started permitting home care for certain patients, provided that the facilities for home isolation are up to the standards certified by authorities of the local-self government department. With this move, the burden on the healthcare system has also eased, officials say.

As of Friday, the cumulative COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 82,104 while the number of active cases stood at 21,268. A total of 60,448 people have recovered to date. According to data issued by the government, currently, 17,194 people have been admitted to hospitals, 1,80,743 people are either at home or in institutions, and these include positive cases as well as people who have been quarantined as a precaution.

“On an average, the cumulative caseload in a district would be at 600 per day, and of this, half would be asymptomatic cases. And of the asymptomatic cases, most people opt for home care. Home care has become a huge relief as it reduces the burden on the health care workers, on human resources and other infrastructure,” District Medical Officer (DMO) in Kasargod AV Ramdas told TNM.

From August 10 to September 4, Friday, 1,012 asymptomatic patients have completed health care in Kasaragod.

While the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for home care of the asymptomatic patients is decided by the district administration, general guidelines were issued by the Health Department to be followed by the patients.

Home care is permitted provided that the patients satisfy the clinical criteria and if they have adequate facilities for home isolation as mandated by the authorities.

“Yes, it is indeed a huge relief for the whole infrastructure,” DMO of Thiruvananthapuram district Dr KS Shinu told TNM. 

Asymptomatic patients fall under the ‘A’ category of COVID-19 patients; those who need hospitalisation fall under the B category and those who need ventilator support or need to be admitted to Intensive Care Units fall under the C category.

In Thiruvananthapuram, as on Friday, 550 asymptomatic patients have completed home care while 325 of them are still in home isolation. 

“We can’t have beds reserved for A category patients, as B and C category patients need better care. With more and more health workers getting infected, we are moving from limited to negative human resources, and with home care, we don’t need to add more pressure on them. Also, only minimum treatment is needed for asymptomatic patients. What they need is sufficient sleep, food, water and in some cases, vitamin supplements,” Dr Shinu added.

While people are in home care, their oxygen saturation level will be monitored. Health workers will be communicating with them over the phone, through voice calls or video conferencing. Doctors will also be available on the phone.

“This is a huge relief for the patients too, as they can be at home and this gives them mental peace. The very thought that their dear ones are at the same place also helps them relax,” Dr Ramdas said.

As per the existing discharge guidelines, the period of home care and the clinical eligibility criteria should be assessed by a treating physician or medical officer from the local health authorities.

The patient will be allowed to remain in home care if he or she does not have major comorbidities, uncontrolled comorbidity or any vulnerable conditions like pregnancy, immediate postnatal state or immunocompromised states, and they should be psychologically fit and willing for room isolation.

If the patient is a child who is below 12 years of age, then a parent or guardian caregiver can be allowed to go into room isolation together and a third person shall become the caretaker.

The state had on July 29 also allowed home care for health care workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com