Kerala Health department draws up new protocols

For examining and surveilling people returning from COVID-19 hotspots

The Health Department has come up with new protocols for examining and surveilling people returning from COVID-19-hit countries.

People will be quarantined under ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ categories according to symptoms or their asymptomatic conditions.

Since the epidemiology of COVID-19 shows that 75-80% of the affected will develop only mild symptoms that do not require hospitalisation, the majority of patients will not require observation and treatment in a health-care institution.

As hospitals act as amplifying centres for epidemics, the burden of a mildly symptomatic patient can get enhanced in a hospital environment where high-risk patients are treated.

Hence, people with mild symptoms will not be taken to hospitals for testing and treatment. They will be undergoing clinical management at home.

Three categories

Those who have mild fever and cough will be under ‘A’ category, who will be quarantined at home for 28 days. A junior health inspector or a junior public health nurse will assess adequacy of isolation facility using a checklist and a doctor from the primary health centre will monitor the progress over the phone to assess any development of red flag signs.

Those having high fever, throat ache, and also those with low fever and cough, who are pregnant or over 60 years, having other illnesses of lungs, heart, kidney, diabetes or other disorders will be under category ‘B’. People under this category will have to contact the State Health enquiry Disha at 1056 or 0471 2552056 or the control room in the district and take treatment at the hospital directed by the control room.

Category ‘B’

Category ‘B’ patients could be either admitted or sent back for home isolation depending on the condition. The district surveillance officer will ensure the prescribed format of home isolation and also make the doctor at the nearby primary health centre in charge of monitoring the patient’s health. Persons under category ‘C’ will be those who having severe symptoms of COVID-19 such as high fever, throat ache, breathlessness, wheezing and will be shifted to hospital isolation room.