NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, on Saturday, May 8, released a list of revised guidelines for home isolation for patients with mild or asymptomatic symptoms, and hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. According to the MoHFW, these patient-centric measures are being introduced to ensure prompt, effective, comprehensive treatment of patients suffering from coronavirus infection.
The new guidelines dictate following:
- COVID-19 report is no longer mandatory for admission to COVID-19 hospitals.
- No hospital can deny admission and adequate medical care at any count. Even in cases of patient belonging to a different city or state, adequate medical arrangements should be administered to the patient. Hospitals shall not demand valid identity card from a patient that does not belong to the city where the hospital is located for admitting the patient.
- A suspect case of COVID-19 is to be kept in the suspect ward of the COVID-19 Care Center, Dedicated COVID-19 Health Centre or Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital.
- A COVID-19 positive patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 10 days have passed from the onset of infection’s symptoms and had no fever for three days.
- There is no need for testing after home isolation period is over and patient has had no fever for three days.
- A patient should be clinically assigned a mild/asymptomatic case by the concerned medical officer, for the asymptomatic cases are laboratory-confirmed cases not experiencing any symptoms and having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 94 per cent.
- Clinically assigned mild cases having upper respiratory tract symptoms (and/or fever), experiencing no shortness of breath, and having oxygen saturation at room air at more than 94 per cent are recommended for home isolation.
- COVID-19 patients aged more than 60 years and those with co-morbid conditions shall only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by a treating medical officer.
- The decision to administer Remdesivir or any other investigational therapy is to be taken only by a medical professional and administered only in a hospital setting.