Dist may allow home quarantine

Coimbatore: The district administration on Saturday said they were open to allowing Covid-19 patients remain in home isolation, which would, however, be decided only on a case-by-case basis. The move comes after the district’s Covid-19 tally crossed the 1,000-mark a day earlier than projected.
An official said they had tried out home quarantine once and were not satisfied with the results. Home isolation of asymptomatic patients is widely practiced in Chennai and Madurai, where all hospital beds are occupied.
Officials had begun ramping up bed strength in hospitals and care centres after it was projected that the district was likely to see a total of 4,000 cases by August 1, going by the current doubling time of cases.
Collector K Rajamani said, “Home quarantine could be allowed for patients who are asymptomatic or those with extremely mild symptoms. They should not have any comorbidities and not be in the age group of 50 and above.”
There are other factors to be considered as well, says another official. “We need to know the number of members in the house, whether there is enough space and room for the patient to remain in quarantine and if the patient is educated enough to understand the importance of isolation.”
If the house is cramped and there are people above 60 and small children, he said, they might not allow even a 30-year-old to home quarantine if there are beds available in Covid care centres.
According to sources, an asymptomatic patient from Podanur was allowed to home quarantine last week after he refused to get admitted to the government hospital in Pollachi. “Three days later, his mother was rushed to the ESI Hospital with breathlessness and tested positive for the virus. His wife also contracted the virus.”