SEDIBENG.- People often ask if someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 can be cared for at home?
Yes, but a health worker will assess risk factors along with the person’s symptoms, medical history and ability for the family to manage the care.
It is important that household members limit shared spaces, practice the recommended hygiene and know how to recognize and respond to signs of worsening health.
What should be done to prevent other people in the house from becoming sick if a person with Covid-19 is being cared for at home?
* The ill person should stay in a separate room. If this is not possible, then keep at least a 1 metre distance from them. The sick person and anyone else in the same room should wear a medical mask.
Provide good ventilation in the room of the ill person and shared spaces, and open windows if possible and safe to do so.
* The ill person should wear a medical mask as much as possible, in particular when not alone in the room and when at least a 1 metre distance from others cannot be maintained.
Visitors should not be allowed in the home.
Limit the number of caregivers to one person with no underlying conditions, if possible.
* Caregivers and household members should wear a medical mask while in the same room with an ill person, not touch their mask or face during use, discard the mask after leaving the room, and wash their hands afterward.
* The ill person should have dedicated dishes, cups, eating utensils, towels and bed linens.
They should be washed with soap and water, and not shared.
* Frequently touched surfaces by the ill person should be cleaned and disinfected at least daily.
* Everyone in the household should wash their hands with soap and water regularly, especially after coughing or sneezing before during and after you prepare food, before eating, after using the toilet, before and after caring for the ill person and when hands are visibly dirty.
* A cough or sneeze should be covered with a flexed elbow or a disposable tissue that is discarded immediately after use.
* The waste from the ill person should be packed in strong closed bags before disposal.
* Cut masks and gloves which you dispose of, especially when you are sick, to prevent people to take them out of your garbage bag.
How long should people with Covid-19 stay at home and in isolation?
People with Covid-19 who are cared for at home should stay in isolation until they are no longer able to transmit the virus to others:
Those with symptoms should stay isolated for a minimum of 10 days after the first day they developed symptoms, plus another 3 days after the end of symptoms – when they are without fever and without respiratory symptoms.
People without symptoms should stay isolated for a minimum of 10 days after testing positive.
How does contact and the spreading of the virus work?
The spread of Covid-19 occurs most often when an infected person is in close or direct contact with another person. The risk of the spread of the virus is higher in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces where people spend long periods of time together in close proximity. Improving indoor ventilation can reduce the risk of the virus spreading indoors.
Stigma:
Covid-19 has affected many people within our communities. Unfortunately stigmatization is common in disease outbreaks.
Stigma occurs when people associate a risk with specific people, places, or things.
Public health emergencies, such as the outbreak of Covid -19 are stressful times for people and communities. Fear and anxiety about the disease can lead to social stigma.
Stigma hurts everyone and may create fear or anger towards other people.
Stigma can also occur after a person has been released from Covid-19 quarantine even though they are not considered a risk for spreading the virus to others.
People who are OR were affected did not do anything wrong, they deserve support, compassion and kindness at all the time.
Be empathetic to all those who are affected OR have recovered. After recovering from Covid-19 they must be able to go on with their jobs, families and loved ones.