Health Ministry Issues Guidelines On Self-Isolation At Home

Source: Vientiane Times

Health authorities are advising people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms to self-isolate at home instead of going to a hospital, but stresses they should follow the rules on Covid control laid down by the Ministry of Health.

This should help to lower the mortality rate due to Covid-19, because hospital staff need more time to care for people who are seriously ill with the virus, health officials say.

Even though more temporary hospitals have been set up around the country, medical personnel will soon be unable to adequately deal with the growing number of Covid cases, the ministry has said.

The Ministry of Health issued a statement on November 9 concerning self-isolation at home, stressing the fact that an infected person should isolate themselves from other family members.

The advice comes as Laos faces a spiralling number of Covid cases, which is projected to increase further in the coming days.

However, older adults and people of any age with an existing medical condition should see a doctor as soon as symptoms appear. This especially applies to those at high risk, such as people aged over 60, pregnant women, and people with heart, lung, kidney or liver problems, diabetes and cancer.

The ministry’s latest advice is for people who have mild symptoms of Covid to self-isolate at home as they are likely to be unwell for only a few days and will probably feel better after about one week. In the meantime, they should ease their symptoms by resting, drinking more fluids and taking pain relievers if necessary.

The infected person should be isolated from other family members and remain in a well-ventilated room, with windows and doors open to allow air to circulate.

The person should use a separate bathroom from other people in the household and, if not separated, use a disinfectant spray after each use.

All common areas should be well ventilated and disinfected regularly. If more than one person in the family is infected with Covid, they should all be in the same house.

The ministry also advises infected people to use separate cups, plates and cutlery, and to separate the washing of bed sheets, towels and clothes.

Infected people should not leave the house and caregivers should avoid close contact with others in the community. Other members of the household should go out to do the shopping.

The National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Health and other relevant bodies are assessing the situation but in the meantime advise people with no or mild symptoms in Vientiane to self-isolate.

This will free up hospital beds for people in need of treatment, Director General of the ministry’s Department of Communicable Disease Control, Dr Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, said.