Odisha Govt Allows Home Isolation For Asymptomatic/Mildly Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to allow home isolation for asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients in 114 Urban Local Bodies, district headquarters/sub-divisional/block headquarters with compliance to certain health protocols.

At a press briefing here on Monday, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said mild cases don’t require critical care facility and this decision will also help in effective utilisation of critical resources like hospitals. “Our study has shown that patients with mild symptoms are reluctant to be treated at hospitals. These comprise 80 per cent of the total cases and some even hide symptoms to avoid hospitalisation. We have also received requests for allowing them to recuperate in isolation at home,” he said.

They will be under active surveillance of state health authorities, he added.

Stating that COVID-19 management strategy needs to be calibrated as the pandemic situation is evolving amid rising cases, the chief secretary further said municipal corporations, airports, ECoR, ports, PSU, central armed police force, Odisha Police, Fire Services, deemed varsities, religious committees, resident welfare associations and NGOs with adequate health care facilities will be allowed to keep their own members, employees and workers with COVID-19 infection in isolation with certain conditions.

“We have different layers of infrastructure which was planned beforehand to treat COVID-19 patients. There are COVID care centres and COVID hospitals and health centres. The beds, however, are fast filling up amid the rising cases,” he said.

He, however, said that COVID-19 situation in Odisha is better as compared to the national fatality ratio of 2.66. The state’s fatality ratio is 0.48.