At home with a little help, patients fight Covid

nNEW DELHI: Rohini resident Richa Gupta’s husband woke up with a mild fever on May 24 and the family decided to isolate him in one of the rooms of their two-bedroom flat. Two days later, they got themselves tested by a government-run mobile sample collection unit. Her husband and fouryear-old son tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The family of Richa Gupta, 40, was concerned about her well-being because she suffers from hypertension and severe diabetes that can only be controlled with insulin shots. She is also obese.

“I live with my husband, son, sister-in-law, and a full-time help and we have only one bathroom. Initially, we thought of getting admitted to the government facilities but then chose to stay at home as it was more comfortable,” said Gupta. Her husband lives in one of the rooms, she is in another room with her son, and her sister-in-law and the help stay in the living room.

Her husband, Pankaj Kumar, 40, had mild fever, sore throat, and headaches. Her son, Vardhan, did not have any symptoms other than some ulcers in his mouth. And she had extreme body ache for a day.

One in three of every Covid-19 positive patient in Delhi is currently isolated at home. According to data released by by the Delhi government, 13,012 people are under home isolation across the city currently. Home isolation becomes all the more important as the Delhi government works towards scaling up of hospitals beds in preparation for up to 550,000 cases of Covid-19 it expects in the city by July-end.

Only those with mild symptoms – low grade fever, sore throat, headache — and no comorbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart and kidney disease will be allowed to remain in home isolation. Comorbid conditions are known to increase the risk of a person developing severe symptoms of Covid-19.

Nobody from the government’s health department visited Richa Gupta’s family to check their condition or their situation. Someone from the district office just put up the Home Isolation sticker on their home and left. But her husband receives a call from the government every other day checking in on his symptoms and psychological well-being.

“Not only do they ask him about his fever and other symptoms, they also check how his mood is. We have also been given the number of a doctor who prescribes medicines when necessary,” she said. Their home isolation will end on Saturday.

Arvind Sehgal, 56, decided to get tested for Covid-19 after feeling breathless. He did not have any fever or other symptoms of Covid-19, but tested positive for the infection on May 29. He has hypertension. Instead of waiting for the government, he hired one HDU Healthcare, a home care service. “Once I tested positive, I started looking for such home care services. They have provided me with a nurse and even an oxygen machine. I got better within two days of using oxygen,” he said. .

“We assess every patient who calls us – some of them just need regular teleconsultation, others might need to be hospitalised. We refer them accordingly. However, some people who are not very sick,and can recover at home with just oxygen support, are provided cylinders,” said Dr Dixit Kumar Thakur, consultant of pulmonary critical care with HDU Healthcare.