COVID-19 home quarantine, self-isolation underway as ‘Delta wave’ deepens

COVID-19 patients will home quarantine and self-isolate as health authorities try to ease the mounting pressure on overwhelmed coronavirus care facilities amid a relentless wave of infections linked to the Delta variant, Health Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic has announced.

Doctors have already begun to make rounds of home visitors to monitor the infected, most of whom remain unvaccinated.

At a COVID-19 update from llaro Court Sunday evening Minister Bostic reported: “ We have been able to assess about 591 persons out of a total of 680 and out of those 591 persons, 22 persons were referred to Harrison Point with another 12 in the process of being sent to Harrison Point.

“That is because we are trying desperately to ensure that we get those persons who require urgent or immediate medical attention out of their homes and into facilities so that they can be taken care of and we are doing everything possible to save lives in this process.”

Lt Col Bostic gave an assurance that the patients are being closely monitored to ensure their safety.

He said: “We have a team of medical personnel, doctors and so on who have been contacting these persons on a daily basis and we will continue with that form of assessment also using telemedicine to be able to deal with any situations that might come up.”

From Monday, patients will be receiving thermometers as well as pulse oximeters to keep track of their blood oxygen levels and their condition at home, the health minister said.

He appealed to patients to adhere to the requirements, noting that the programme would have to remain in place until the current ‘Delta wave’ is brought under control.

“Our isolation facilities are very challenged at this point in time because we having more positives than we have been able to discharge persons from isolation thus given the large numbers that we are seeing,” said Lt Col Bostic. “There are some days that we are okay because a lot of people would have been discharged but then there are others where we are significantly challenged because the reverse occurs – so this one has been a very serious challenge for us.

“This is what we will have to do over the next few weeks to arrest this development because this is the first time that we had such a challenge at our isolation facilities. But this is the nature of the game, this is what we are facing  and even though it is a significant challenge, it is a challenge that we to have overcome.”

The home quarantine and isolation programme has been endorsed by Dr Anthony Harris, a former director of Medical Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and a senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeon.

At the news conference, he stressed that it was an effective way to handle the current situation.

“I am happy we are going to take on the challenge of home isolation and home quarantine and I would just like to reassure the public. If the public follow the instructions of the medical team it would be a safe and easy undertaking,” said Dr Harris.

The Health Minister also disclosed that health care workers remain under pressure as they care for the increasing number of COVID-19 patients plus general health care requirements.

A team from New York-based Northwell Medical is already on the ground assessing the response at a number of facilities including the Accident and Emergency Department at the QEH.

Lt Col Bostic added that Government has also reached out to private doctors to provide support to the COVID-19 fight.