In an effort to combat COVID-19Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has shared guidelines for home quarantine and family members explaining how to go about environmental sanitation and what all public health measures to be followed.

Definition of contact

A contact is defined as a healthy person that has been in such association with an infected person or a contaminated environment, as to have exposed, and is therefore at a higher risk of developing disease

A person living in the same household as a COVID-19 case

A person having had direct physical contact with a COVID-19 case

A person who was in a closed environment or had face to face contact with a COVID-19 case at a distance of within 1 metre including air travel

Home quarantined person should

stay in a well-ventilated single-room, preferably with an attached / separate toilet

stay away from elderly people, and pregnant women

Restrict his/her movement within the house

Under no circumstances attend any social/religious gathering

The public health measures which are to be followed include

Wash hands as often, thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer

Avoid sharing household items with other people at home

Wear a surgical mask at all the time

The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and disposed off

Disposable masks are never to be reused

Used mask should be considered as potentially infected

If symptoms appear (cough/fever/difficulty in breathing), he/she should immediately inform the nearest health centre or call 011-23978046

Instructions for the family members

Only an assigned family member should be tasked with taking care of such a person

Avoid shaking the soiled linen or direct contact with skin

Use disposable gloves when cleaning the surfaces or handling soiled linen

Wash hands after removing gloves

Visitors should not be allowed

In case, person being quarantined becomes symptomatic, all his close contacts will be home quarantined for 14 days till report of such case turns out negative on lab testing

Environmental sanitation

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, in the quarantined person's room daily, with 1% Sodium Hypo-chlorite Solution

Clean and disinfect toilet surfaces daily, with regular household bleach solution/phenolic disinfectants

Clean the clothes and other linen used by the person separately, using common household detergent and dry.