Two close contacts in Hanoi of a confirmed COVID-19 case returning from HCM City are about to go to centralised quarantine facility (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The on July 14 issued updated
guidelines on the and details of a pilot home
quarantine scheme for people who came into direct contact with confirmed
COVID-19 cases.
According
to the guidelines, which local administrations are supposed to observe, the
time of medical quarantine is decreased from 21 days to 14 days for direct
contacts (F1 cases) of confirmed patients (F0) and foreign arrivals,
except for arrivals for business purposes with duration of stay shorter than 14
days, and other cases of entries in accordance with other regulations of the
Immigration Department and the National Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and
Control.
However,
they would need to continue to monitor their health status for the next 14 days.
Local
authorities are ordered to manage and supervise the isolation period and
follow-up medical observation period to ensure no cross-infection or virus
spread in the community.
The
ministry also told local administrations to consider conducting trials of home
quarantine of F1 cases, hold training and provide instructions via video
clips or other materials, strictly and frequently manage the isolation
processes to ensure disease prevention and control.
According
to the interim guidance, the accommodation for quarantining F1 cases needs
to be a house or an apartment in a residential building, a red placard must be
displayed with yellow letters “COVID-19 medical quarantine site” and a waste
bin with hazardous material warning.
The
house/apartment needs a separate room that is fully functional (with its own
toilet, waste bin, air condition unit, washing machine, etc.) and distinct from
the common living space of the rest of family (if any), and a camera is needed
to monitor the quarantined subject.
Toiletries,
personal protective gear must be worn by other family members who
come into contact with the quarantine person(s).
They
must also have access to cleaning equipment, and a table outside the quarantine
room to leave meals, drinks and other necessary items for the quarantined
person(s) to take.
The
F1 cases under home quarantine must not have direct contacts with other family
members or pets, install the contact tracing app Bluezone during the entire
period, monitor their own health status including body temperatures to report
on Bluezone or to local health authorities via telephone.
The
F1 cases would be tested three times, on the first, seventh, and fourteenth day
of the quarantine.
The
other residents of the house/apartment would also be tested (using pooled
samples testing) in the same timeframe.
A
review of the pilot period is required to consider the implementation of the
model on a larger scale, the health ministry noted./.
Source: VietnamPlus
