As concern remained high over non-availability of hospital beds, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday revised its guidelines for home isolation to include Covid-19 patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms such as sore throat and persistent cough, and oxygen saturation of more than 94 per cent at room air.
The Ministry recommended four drugs that can be prescribed by doctors to patients in home isolation if mild symptoms persist. It also allowed home isolation for immuno-compromised patients, based on evaluation by doctors.
Earlier, immuno-compromised patients – those with HIV, those undergoing cancer therapy, transplant recipients, etc. – could not remain in home isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. In the new guidelines, the Ministry, while reiterating that those suffering from “immune-compromised status…are not recommended for home isolation”, has also said that such patients “shall only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by the treating medical officer”.
The guidelines detail for the first time, the treatment protocol for patients in home isolation with mild symptoms. They recommend symptomatic management for fever, running nose and cough, and warm-water gargles or steam inhalation twice a day.