GUWAHATI, Aug 28 - Over 1,000 COVID-19 patients have opted for home isolation in Kamrup Metro district and despite 27 per cent of them not qualifying to avail the option, none of them had to be shifted to hospital for intensive care so far.
According to data available with Pratishruti Cancer and Palliative Trust, which is monitoring the patients under home isolation under a joint project with Assam Police, 17.9 per cent do not have personal vehicle and 29.9 per cent do not have or can�t purchase a pulse oximeter.
Till yesterday, the monitoring agency registered 1,006 patients who have opted for home isolation in the district, 8.9 per cent of whom do not have caregiver person and 8.7 per cent have susceptible family members at home.
Also, 4.5 per cent of the patients do not have a separate well-ventilated room and 22.3 per cent do not have personal assigned doctors to monitor their health condition.
�Despite 27 per cent of them not qualifying for the criteria a person has to fulfill in order to opt for home isolation, none of them had to be shifted to hospital. None have developed any health emergency conditions. In fact, over 300 have already completed their 14-day isolation,� Dr Gayatri Gogoi, Assistant Professor of AMCH who is heading the Pratishruti�s research team, told The Assam Tribune.
Pratishruti, along with Assam Police, has been monitoring the patients since first week of August. The patients and family members are also being geo-tracked using an app � a concept developed by Dhemaji SP Dr Dhananjay Ghanawat � which all the family members have to download in their mobiles. A scientifically generated real-time model is being used for the purpose of monitoring.
Pratishruti had earlier monitored over 30,000 people home quarantined in city through volunteers and the remote monitoring model was hugely successful.
There were just three incidents in which the monitoring agency had to intervene. In one case, the family of a COVID-19 rickshawpuller had to be shifted to a covid care centre due to lack of logistic support at home. Similar was the case with another positive person who did not qualify any criteria for home isolation and the virus had spread to two other family members. Another shifted to a hospital out of own will as he was apprehensive due to his co-morbid condition.
"With no signs of the cases receding, home isolation could be a successful model in the long run which can reduce the pressure on the covid care centres. Of course, monitoring of the patients under home isolation either by the government or an agency is of utmost importance," Dr Gogoi said.
�It is important to ensure that the patients does not cause danger to another person and has a conducive atmosphere at home. This remote monitoring model can be adopted in other places as the financial implication is very less. For that, the government can relax most of the criteria notified earlier,� she added.
According to the standing guidelines, a patient opting for home isolation has to fulfill a set of criteria. The State had allowed home isolation of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients since last month.
