India has reported 2.4 Lac new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, according to a worldometers tally, the highest daily total in India in  Jan 2022  as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of dialing down .

The previous record was 1.84 Lac cases on Jan.11. A large number of cases are reported each Wednesday.

While the Omicron variant is potentially less severe, health officials have warned that the sheer number of infections could strain hospital systems, some of which have already suspended elective procedures as they struggle to handle the increase in patients and staff shortages.

The surge in cases has disrupted schools, which are struggling with absences of staff, teachers and bus drivers.

12.01.2022 Revised Guidelines for Home Isolation of Mild / Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases

Asymptomatic cases/ mild cases of COVID-19

The asymptomatic cases are laboratory conrmed cases who are not experiencing any symptoms and have oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%.

Clinically assigned mild cases are patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms with or without fever, without shortness of breath and having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%

Patients eligible for home isolation

• The patient should be clinically assigned as mild/ asymptomatic case by the treating Medical Ofcer. Further a designated control room contact number at the district /sub district level shall be provided to the family to get suitable guidance for undertaking testing, clinical management related guidance, assignment of a hospital bed, if warranted.
• Such cases should have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and for quarantining the family contacts.
• Elderly patients aged more than 60 years and those with co-morbid conditions such as Hypertension, Diabetes, Heart disease, Chronic lung/liver/ kidney disease, Cerebro-vascular disease etc shall only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by the treating
  medical officer.
• A caregiver (ideally someone who has completed his COVID-19 vaccination schedule) should be available to provide care on 24 x7 basis. A communication link between the caregiver and a Medical Ofcer is a prerequisite for the entire duration of home isolation.
• Patients suffering from immune compromised status (HIV, Transplant recipients, Cancer therapy etc.) are not recommended for home isolation and shall only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by the treating Medical Ofcer.

Instructions for the patient

• Patient must isolate himself from other household members, stay in the identied room and away from other people at home, especially elderly and those with co-morbid conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal disease etc.
• The patient should stay in a well-ventilated room with cross ventilation and windows should be kept open to allow fresh air to come in.
• Patient should at all times use triple layer medical mask. They should discard mask after 8 hours of use or earlier if the mask becomes wet or is visibly soiled. In the event of Caregiver entering the room, both Caregiver and patient may preferably consider using N-95 mask.
• Mask should be discarded after cutting them to pieces and putting in a paper bag for a minimum of 72 hours.
• Patient must take rest and drink lot of uids to maintain adequate hydration.
• Follow respiratory etiquettes at all times.
• Undertake frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least 40 seconds or clean with
  alcohol-based sanitizer.
• The patients shall not share personal items including utensils with other people in the household.
• Need to ensure cleaning of frequently touched surfaces in the room (tabletops, doorknobs, handles, etc.) with soap/detergent & water. The cleaning can be undertaken either by the patient or the caregiver duly following required precautions such as use of masks and gloves.
• Self-monitoring of blood oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter for the patient is advised.
• The patient shall self-monitor his/her health with daily temperature monitoring and report promptly if any deterioration of symptom is noticed. The status shall be shared with the treating Medical Ofcer as well as surveillance teams/Control room