In India’s fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID 2019), the Union Health Ministry has issued elaborate guidelines on how to enforce “home quarantine” for a fortnight. While less stringent than being quarantined in an Army or paramilitary facility, home quarantine comes with its own set of restrictions. Here is all you need to know about such a regime, and why it is important.
Quarantine, like isolation, separates some people from others during the outbreak of a contagious disease. While isolation separates sick people from people who are not sick, quarantine separates those who were exposed to a contagious disease, and who are then observed to see if they too become sick. Home quarantine means being quarantined at home.
Home quarantine means that a person is confined to a well-ventilated single-room, preferably with an attached/separate toilet, in his or her own home. If another family member needs to stay in the same room, the two need to maintain a distance of at least 1 metre between each other.
Given the enhanced risks for some people, the person needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household. In the coronavirus outbreak, children have so far been less affected than others — in China only 2% of the patients have been below age 20. However, given the fact that this virus is essentially an unknown organism, the government’s home quarantine guidelines highlight the need for a contact to stay away from children as well.