Distress follows disease: Even mild patients can’t stay home

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), headed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, on Friday evening controversially ordered a mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for “each case” under home quarantine in the city, in an unexpected move that could strain the Capital’s already-stretched health care infra and workers, discourage people from undergoing tests, and inconvenience around 8,500 people in under home isolation.

The move was immediately criticised as “arbitrary” by the state government, which, in a statement, pointed out its success in running a home quarantine programme and the challenges that will come with adding “thousands of quarantine rooms and finding additional doctors and nurses and health workers” to manage these facilities. The statement also questioned why this change in guidelines was being made only for Delhi. “We have treated thousands of mild and asymptomatic cases at home so far through daily monitoring and counselling,” it added.

DDMA said in its order that it fears “home isolation without physical contact to monitor the patients may be a reason for the increase in the spread of Covid-19 infections in Delhi”.

But, according to experts, home quarantine is preferred if the home meets certain conditions. “Medical beds should be kept for serious patients needing specialised care...” said T Jacob John, the former head of virology at CMC, Vellore.