In an important modification in the protocol for positives of Covid- 19 infection and their contacts, Jammu and Kashmir Government today revised home isolation guidelines to permit such patients for home quarantine who are asymptomatic with no comorbidity and are not vulnerable otherwise.
An order issued by Health & Medical Education Department in this regard asked Divisional, District as well as designated institutions and hospitals which include SKIMS Soura, Srinagar, Govt. Medical Colleges of Jammu, Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Doda, Kathua and Rajouri and Director Health Services Kashmir/Jammu to follow the revised guidelines.
All such patients shall be permitted for home quarantine provided they have separate room available in their home; have downloaded Aarogya Setu application on their phones; besides such patients will be provided with Oximeter to monitor their oxygen saturation and in the event of drop of the Oxygen level below 90% they shall immediately be hospitalized; a poster shall be pasted outside their home displaying therein that the resident has been quarantined and reach out teams shall be constituted by the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu / Kashmir to monitor health status of the patient.
“Further, it is permitted to dispense with present practice of administrative quarantine of contacts of COVID positive patients. All asymptomatic contacts of COVID-19 patient will be allowed home quarantine and tested on the sixth day of the contact,” the Order said and added that in case, the test of the contact returns positive, defined protocol for COVID-19 shall be followed.