The rising cases of COVID-19 across the globe and specifically in our country have overburdened the hospitals and medical staff throughout India. This has led to the recommendations for self-isolation, for people who are experiencing mild symptoms. Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, MD (General Medicine), Consultant Physician at VINN Hospital, Hyderabad says, “For most of the people who are living in small homes, it is rather difficult for them to follow the self-isolation guidelines as recommended by ICMR. If self-isolation is not possible at home, especially for people living in a 1BHK or bigger families, many hotels are also renting out their rooms to serve the purpose. You can isolate there for at least 2 weeks in case of any mild symptoms. But, there are some measures that can be followed by them to prevent the infection from spreading.”
For Infected Person
- Put on a PPE gear if the house is very small, to stop the infection from spreading out.
- If wearing a PPE kit, there should be an isolated room for dress changing and the room should be sanitized every four hours.
- Read the instructions carefully on the PPE kit and dispose of immediately in a disposable bag provided in the packet. Throw it separately and not with the general garbage.
- Limit yourself to one area of the house, possibly to a room with an attached bathroom.
- Sanitization procedures should be followed by all the family members very strictly.
- Wear a mask, gloves and ensure frequent cleaning/washing of hands
- Make sure to eat well and healthy
- Monitor your health status from time to time like your oxygen level, single breath count, checking your pulse, temperature, etc.
- If you see the situation moving in a negative direction, seek medical help immediately.
- Talk to your doctor and pick up some multivitamins that will help improve the immunity.
- Drink an adequate amount of water throughout the day
- Rest properly and maintain proper sleep hygiene.
For family members:
- Nobody of the family, except one who is supplying the essentials, should have access to the infected person’s room.
- The only person accessing the room should enter the room only after wearing a PPE kit.
- Whatever is provided to the infected person should go in a disposable only, like food, medicines, etc., which should be discarded separately.
- The provider should restrict themselves to the door only and try not to enter the room
- The person should clean the room on their own and disinfect commonly touched surfaces like the side table, door handles, door knobs, etc.
- The washroom should be used by that person only and must be cleaned regularly by them.
Disinfecting:
- Recommendations are using Sodium Hypochlorite solution for disinfecting
- The solution will lessen the viral load and not let the virus grow or multiply.
- Clean the area/surfaces every 4 hours.
- Dispose off all the garbage of the infected person separately. The Municipal Corporation people should be informed and it should be carried out by them only.
