Coronavirus or COVID-19 was first reported in 2019 in the City of Wuhan in China. This disease spread quickly to other parts of China. At present, there are several confirmed cases of COVID-19 all around the world including Italy, the UK, the USA, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany and India. Here are a few COVID 19 home quarantine guidelines you must follow if it comes to that.
A suspect or a case of COVID-19 once detected must be followed by quick isolation. Once the case has been identified s/he has to be isolated in the health center designated by the authorities. All contacts of the suspect case/confirmed case of COVID 19 have to be listed and they have to be home quarantined.
COVID 19 Home Quarantine Guidelines – A Comprehensive Guide
Who Is A Contact?
First things first. A healthy individual who has come into contact with a person infected with a disease or has been exposed to an environment that is contaminated is referred to as a contact.
The novel Coronavirus COVID-19 contact can be identified by considering the following.
- Shared
the same housing space with the suspect case of COVID-19 - Direct
physical contact with a suspect/confirmed case - Shared a
closed space with the infected/suspect - Came in
to contact with secretions that are infected without the required
covering/protection (Personal Protective Equipment-PPE) - The
possibility of breach of the personal protective equipment while in contact
with a suspect/confirmed case - Face to
face contact at a distance shorter than 1 meter - Travelled
together: be it in a plane/train compartment/taxi/bus - The
association with the suspect/confirmed case of COVID-19 could have happened
within 14 days before the disease onset.
COVID 19 Home Quarantine Guidelines For Contacts
Given below are some of the important instructions to be followed by a home quarantined contact.
- Remain in a single room
- The room must be properly ventilated
- Use a separate toilet/bathroom
- Maintain a minimum distance of 1 meter from the
other person if the room is being shared - Stay away from people with other diseases
- Stay away from children and the elderly
- Stay away from pregnant women
- Restricted movement within the house
- Do not attend public, religious, social
gatherings - This could include a funeral, a marriage, a
conference etc
COVID 19 Home Quarantine Guidelines – Health Measures To Be Adopted By The Contact
- Use a hand sanitizer that is alcohol-based
regularly - Wash your hands as often as you can
- Thoroughly wash your hands using soap and water
- Do not share your personal/household things with
people at home - This includes towels, clothes, plates, cups etc
- Always
wear a surgical mask - Change it every 6-8 hours
- Do not reuse a disposable mask
- These masks must be treated as potentially
infected - The mask used by the patient/close
contacts/caretakers during isolation at home must be disinfected - Use bleach/sodium hypochlorite to disinfect
- Dispose of by burying/burning it
COVID 19 Home Quarantine Guidelines – Instructions For The Family Of The Contact
- Only one
member should be assigned as care-taker - Strictly
prohibit visitors - Direct
skin contact must be avoided - Clean
the linen/surfaces regularly - Use a
pair of disposable gloves while cleaning - After
removing the gloves wash hands
thoroughly
COVID 19 Home Quarantine Guidelines – How To Disinfect The Environment?
- The
quarantined person’s room must be cleaned regularly - Especially
surfaces like bed frames, chairs and tables etc - Disinfect
using a solution of Sodium Hypochlorite - Use a
bleach solution to disinfect the toilet and bathroom surfaces every day - Linen
and clothes used by the patient must be washed daily - Wash it
separately using detergents and dry it completely
Duration Of Home Quarantine
- 14 days
if the person was in contact with a confirmed case of COVID 19 - A lesser
period if the suspect’s COVID-19 laboratory test results turn out to be
negative
In case the contact gets symptoms like fever, dry cough, breathing difficulty she/he must get in touch with the closest health care center immediately. The family members have to be quarantined for 14 days. Follow-up must be done for another 14 days or until the COVID-19 test results turn out to be negative.