New Covid SOP to fight Covid in rural India

The govt's new guidelines  to battle COVID-19 as the pandemic gradually moves to the semi-urban and rural areas of the country Releasing the guidelines on Sunday, the ministry of health and family welfare said that there is a need to enable communities, strengthen primary level healthcare infrastructure at all levels to intensify Covid-19 response in these areas while continuing to provide other essential health services. Village-level surveillance, tele-consultation with community health officers, and training in rapid antigen testing are among the several areas of focus.

It said that in every village, active surveillance should be done for influenza-like illness/severe acute respiratory infections(ILI/SARI) periodically by ASHA with help of Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC). "These patients should be counselled to isolate themselves till test results are available. Those asymptomatic but having history of high-risk exposure to COVID patients (exposure of more than 15 mins without a mask within 6 feet distance) should be advised quarantine and tested as per ICMR protocol," the ministry further said in the guidelines. The guidelines also talk on focusing on contact tracing as per Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme’s (IDSP) guidelines, adding that those testing positive should be allowed to quarantine at home by following the protocols issued by the ministry.

A home isolation kit shall be provided to all active cases. Each kit must include medicines like paracetamol, ivermectin, cough syrup, and multivitamins, besides a detailed pamphlet indicating the precautions to be taken, a proforma to monitor the patient's condition, contact details in case major symptoms showing up or deterioration of health. "Patients under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 10 days since the onset of symptoms (or from date of sampling for asymptomatic cases) and no fever for three days. There is no need for testing after the home isolation period is over," the guidelines say.