Odisha allows asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to stay in home quarantine

Bhubaneswar: While there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases in Odisha, the State government today allowed positive cases with asymptomatic or mild symptoms to stay in home quarantine instead of institutional quarantine. The move has been taken after the Centre issued a guideline on home quarantine recently.

Additional Chief Secretary of Health department, PK Mohapatra said a patient with mild symptoms or asymptomatic can be discharged after 10 days of developing the symptoms or three days if the concerned person does not suffer from fever.

In case of a severe patient, the concerned person can be discharged three days after stop showing symptoms, he added.

“The patients with mild or asymptomatic will be allowed for home isolation only if the concerned person has facility for separate toilet and a room at his/her home,” said Mohapatra adding that if someone fails to meet the conditions, he/she will kept at the institutional quarantine. The patient will be under surveillance of the medical team.

Initially, the decision on home isolation will be effective in urban areas of the State. However, in case of other areas, if any patient requests for home isolation and fulfils the required condition, he/she will be allowed to stay in home quarantine.

The patients wish for home quarantine will be stamped in their hand and a band will be tied in their wrist. This apart, quarantine sticker will be pasted on the wall of the house.

Children less than 5 years old, pregnant women and dibyangs will get priority for tests and be sent for home isolation if they test negative, he added.

The government also directed sarpanchs to keep an eye on migrants kept at temporary medical camps at panchayat level whether they develop symptoms or not, said Subroto Bagchi, the government’s Chief Spokesperson on COVID-19.

So far, Odisha reported 394 positive cases. A total of 306 are active cases. While 85 cured of the infection, 3 died of the disease.