Kerala is all set to begin home isolation for asymptomatic COVID patients, a treatment method that was waiting to be adopted ever since the cases spiked and crowded hospitals.
Kerala will go ahead in a phased manner. First, on an experimental basis, the method will be tried with positive but asymptomatic healthcare workers. Instead of being shifted to hospitals, asymptomatic healthcare workers will now be asked to isolate themselves at home.
This was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during his customary sunset briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The 'home isolation' model will be scaled up only if it works for healthcare professionals.
The guidelines for the home isolation of 'very mild/pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic COVID-19 cases' were issued by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on July 2. According to the chief minister, some states have already implemented the system.
The move towards 'home isolation' began in Kerala with the setting up of Covid First Line Treatment Centres (CFLTCs) in all panchayats. The CFLTCs are nothing but neighbourhood resting halls where asymptomatics and the mildly symptomatic were shifted. No special care, like in hospitals, are provided in these centres.
"Home isolation will be allowed for those without symptoms. Such patients will not require much treatment either. They are now being shifted to CFLTCs only to prevent them from infecting others. It will not be a problem even if they remain at home. The only thing is, they should not leave their homes," the chief minister said.
Home isolation will require from patients more discipline than merely controlling their urge to step out. They will have to monitor themselves and report any changes they notice.
It is still not clear whether patients in home isolation will be given a finger-pulse oxymeter to regularly check their oxygen levels or whether the portable clip-like instrument would be given only to the junior public health nurse or ASHA worker who will regularly visit the 'home isolated'.
Expert doctors will be constantly monitoring their condition. "They will be shifted to a hospital if there is any change in their condition," the chief minister said.
Hypoxia or a sudden depletion of oxygen level is considered as one of the major complications of COVID.
Official figures say, over 60 per cent of COVID cases in Kerala are asymptomatic. An immediate gain would be the much-needed decongestion of hospitals. The burden on the health system will reduce, enabling more focus on the severe patients.
On July 30, 10,056 COVID patients are being treated in various hospitals. Tertiary care centres like Thiruvananthapuram Medical College are already creaking under the strain. The treatment of other serious ailments like cancer have been affected. Even operations have been postponed.
Problem is, will the 'home isolated' know when to call the doctor if their situation changes. The healthcare workers, if they are doctors and nurses, will know. “So even if the experiment succeeds with them, it is no guarantee that home isolation will work for he general public,” a top health official said.
Health professionals speak of the problem of quick deterioration in COVID patients. The disease acceleration time is shockingly swift, the health official said.
Given that things could go bad any time, no one is sure whether the health system is efficient enough to respond to distress calls from the 'home isolated'.
