Home isolation as last recourse vs Covid-19
>> Saturday, October 2, 2021
CITY HALL BEAT
Aileen P. Refuerzo
BAGUIO CITY -- The city government is looking at home isolation as its last recourse should it totally run out of facilities for Covid-19 patients due to the continuing surge in this summer capital.
City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña said households must prepare for this possibility in view of the overwhelming increase in cases believed to be fueled by the Delta variant.
"Please have your own family isolation plan and dedicate one room as your own isolation area just to be ready because at the rate we are going, time might come that we won't be able to accept patients in our facilities," he said.
He said the city nevertheless continues to exhaust all means to augment its resources which still ran out despite all the preparations and the buffer the city created before the surge.
At present, home isolation is done on a case-by-case basis depending on the conditions at home subject to criteria and guidelines being implemented by the City Health Services Office.
Medical Officer Dr. Alice Torres of the City Health Services Office said there are three criteria being used to allow home isolation of positive patients: when the patient is not capable of self-care or requires special facilities; patient is asymptomatic or mild case living alone; and when all members are positive but asymptomatic or mild.
Home isolation sites must also be assessed as to their viability based on national and local guidelines.
The basic qualifications are that the room must be separate from other rooms with a separate comfort room and proper ventilation. The house must not be crowded where there are no vulnerable family members and the patient must have access to food and necessities and patient care and support.
The city prepared early and added more isolation and quarantine units creating a big buffer before the surge. But with the overwhelming increase in patients, the city will need to step up further and find more ways to cope.
The city has a total of 920 isolation beds in its six facilities with some units serving as stepdown and staging facilities to declog hospitals also now on full capacity.
It however continues to look for solutions by opening more isolation beds at existing facilities and opening new units.
Currently, it is working out arrangements with hotels to serve as isolation facilities.
***
The city government is urging residents to foster self-reliance in their homes and workplaces in protecting themselves and in responding to Covid-19 emergencies.
Covid-19 responders said it is time for families and organizations to be empowered by taking up some responsibilities in the protracted Covid-19 fight as the battle had now shifted in their own turfs.
With the ongoing spike in cases believed to be driven by the more contagious Delta variant, City Epidemiologist Donnabel Panes and Lead Contact Tracing Team Member Mischelle Junio said households and workplaces are now the two hotspots in case clustering in the city.
They said cases in households and work areas had been observed to increase in levels not seen before even during the Alpha and Beta outbreak.
"Before, only one or two members get infected by the patient but now, almost everyone in the family get it including even the young ones," Junio observed.
"The battle is now in these two places because they are where we are lax with our guards but it is time for families and organizations to declare a war, empower themselves to take over the virus," Panes said.
The call for self-sufficiency also came as the city scrambles to augment its resources now stretched to the brink by the ongoing surge despite early and resolute preparations.
"We are in a disaster. We have to bring back the power to the people's hands. While the government is doing its part, people should not rely on it for everything. We have to have personal and collective efforts to achieve our goal of surviving the pandemic," Panes said.
To gain self-empowerment against the virus, the city fosters the following self-sufficiency measures:
Self-restraint/self-discipline -- Sacrifice and abstain from gatherings and risky outdoor or indoor activities. Observe public health standards in and outside your home.
Self-plan -- Do your own "Covid family planning" on what to do when a member gets infected, home isolation, food supply and delivery, care bubble for the elderly and the sickly. Educate yourselves on the city's different Covid processes including testing, contact tracing, isolation and hospitalization and keep numbers of various helplines especially your district health centers and Barangay Health Emergency Teams (BHERTs).
Self-assessment and self-quarantine/isolate - Watch out for symptoms and treat it as warning signs. Immediately contact your health districts or BHERTs assessment and endorsement for testing.
"If you have symptoms, assume that it is already COVID, so quarantine yourself, wear mask, avoid interacting with family members. Avoid going out. We are in a pandemic, you need to protect others, get swabbed and isolated on day 1," Panes said.
Self-taught contact tracing - The obligation to inform your contacts not only rests with the contact tracing team but also with you. Teach family members keep a record of the places they went to and persons they were with. Organizations and individuals may request training with the CT team to be able to do their own.
Self-lockdown - When on lockdown, police yourself and your own household. You signed an undertaking to abide by all the lockdown restrictions, please respect it. Responsible persons do not need policemen watching over them 24/7.
BAGUIO CITY -- The city government is looking at home isolation as its last recourse should it totally run out of facilities for Covid-19 patients due to the continuing surge in this summer capital.
City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña said households must prepare for this possibility in view of the overwhelming increase in cases believed to be fueled by the Delta variant.
"Please have your own family isolation plan and dedicate one room as your own isolation area just to be ready because at the rate we are going, time might come that we won't be able to accept patients in our facilities," he said.
He said the city nevertheless continues to exhaust all means to augment its resources which still ran out despite all the preparations and the buffer the city created before the surge.
At present, home isolation is done on a case-by-case basis depending on the conditions at home subject to criteria and guidelines being implemented by the City Health Services Office.
Medical Officer Dr. Alice Torres of the City Health Services Office said there are three criteria being used to allow home isolation of positive patients: when the patient is not capable of self-care or requires special facilities; patient is asymptomatic or mild case living alone; and when all members are positive but asymptomatic or mild.
Home isolation sites must also be assessed as to their viability based on national and local guidelines.
The basic qualifications are that the room must be separate from other rooms with a separate comfort room and proper ventilation. The house must not be crowded where there are no vulnerable family members and the patient must have access to food and necessities and patient care and support.
The city prepared early and added more isolation and quarantine units creating a big buffer before the surge. But with the overwhelming increase in patients, the city will need to step up further and find more ways to cope.
The city has a total of 920 isolation beds in its six facilities with some units serving as stepdown and staging facilities to declog hospitals also now on full capacity.
It however continues to look for solutions by opening more isolation beds at existing facilities and opening new units.
Currently, it is working out arrangements with hotels to serve as isolation facilities.
***
The city government is urging residents to foster self-reliance in their homes and workplaces in protecting themselves and in responding to Covid-19 emergencies.
Covid-19 responders said it is time for families and organizations to be empowered by taking up some responsibilities in the protracted Covid-19 fight as the battle had now shifted in their own turfs.
With the ongoing spike in cases believed to be driven by the more contagious Delta variant, City Epidemiologist Donnabel Panes and Lead Contact Tracing Team Member Mischelle Junio said households and workplaces are now the two hotspots in case clustering in the city.
They said cases in households and work areas had been observed to increase in levels not seen before even during the Alpha and Beta outbreak.
"Before, only one or two members get infected by the patient but now, almost everyone in the family get it including even the young ones," Junio observed.
"The battle is now in these two places because they are where we are lax with our guards but it is time for families and organizations to declare a war, empower themselves to take over the virus," Panes said.
The call for self-sufficiency also came as the city scrambles to augment its resources now stretched to the brink by the ongoing surge despite early and resolute preparations.
"We are in a disaster. We have to bring back the power to the people's hands. While the government is doing its part, people should not rely on it for everything. We have to have personal and collective efforts to achieve our goal of surviving the pandemic," Panes said.
To gain self-empowerment against the virus, the city fosters the following self-sufficiency measures:
Self-restraint/self-discipline -- Sacrifice and abstain from gatherings and risky outdoor or indoor activities. Observe public health standards in and outside your home.
Self-plan -- Do your own "Covid family planning" on what to do when a member gets infected, home isolation, food supply and delivery, care bubble for the elderly and the sickly. Educate yourselves on the city's different Covid processes including testing, contact tracing, isolation and hospitalization and keep numbers of various helplines especially your district health centers and Barangay Health Emergency Teams (BHERTs).
Self-assessment and self-quarantine/isolate - Watch out for symptoms and treat it as warning signs. Immediately contact your health districts or BHERTs assessment and endorsement for testing.
"If you have symptoms, assume that it is already COVID, so quarantine yourself, wear mask, avoid interacting with family members. Avoid going out. We are in a pandemic, you need to protect others, get swabbed and isolated on day 1," Panes said.
Self-taught contact tracing - The obligation to inform your contacts not only rests with the contact tracing team but also with you. Teach family members keep a record of the places they went to and persons they were with. Organizations and individuals may request training with the CT team to be able to do their own.
Self-lockdown - When on lockdown, police yourself and your own household. You signed an undertaking to abide by all the lockdown restrictions, please respect it. Responsible persons do not need policemen watching over them 24/7.
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