Amid a huge surge in Covid-19 cases, the Mumbai civic body has made the use of masks and gloves mandatory for all home-quarantined patients. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also reduced the home quarantine period to 10 days from the existing 14 days.
"The patient must have a pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, face masks, gloves, sanitiser, etc to be used during home isolation," said the guidelines.
Asymptomatic patients, mild symptomatic patients with no co-morbidities and less than 100 F fever and oxygen saturation above 95 as well as elderly and patients with co-morbidities but no symptoms are to be home-quarantined.
Such patients should have the facility for self- isolation and also for quarantining family contacts.
There should be a separate well-ventilated room with a separate toilet for the patient in home isolation, the guidelines said.
A patient under home isolation will stand "discharged" after 10 days of symptom onset (or date of sampling, for symptomatic cases). He or she must not have a fever for three consecutive days and oxygen saturation should be above 95.
"Thereafter, the patient shall be advised to isolate at home and self-monitor health for further seven days," the guidelines said.
After the period of the home isolation is over, there is no need for a fresh Covid-19 test.
With PTI inputs
