Published on Mar 04, 2023
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing..
Detection of a travel related/unrelated suspect case of novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID19) will be followed by rapid isolation of such cases in designated health facilities and line listing of all contacts of such cases.Home quarantine is applicable to all such contacts of a suspect or confirmed case of COVID-19.
This intervention will be limited to the initial phase of India reporting only
(i) travel related cases and
(ii) focal clusters arising from a travel related/unrelated case where cluster containment strategy is adopted
(iii) Persons coming from COVID-19 affected areas where local and community transmission is evident.
A contact is defined as ahealthyperson that has been in such association with aninfected person or a contaminated environment as to have exposed and is therefore at a higher risk of developing disease. A contact in the context of COVID-19 is:
• A person living in the same household as a COVID-19 case;
• A person having had direct physical contact with a COVID-19 case or his/her infectious secretions without recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) or with a possible breach of PPE
• A person who was in a closed environment or had face to face contact with a COVID-19 case at a distance of within1metre including air travel; The epidemiological link may have occurred within a 14‐day period before the onset of illness in the case under consideration. Instructions for contacts being home quarantined The home quarantined person should: Stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached/separate toilet. If another family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between the two.
• Needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household.
• Restrict his/her movement within the house.
• Under no circumstances attend any social/religious gathering e.g. wedding, condolences, etc
He should also follow the under mentioned public health measures at all times:
• Wash hand as often thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Avoid sharing household items e.g. dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items with other people at home.
• Wear a surgical mask at all the time. The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and disposedoff.Disposable masks are never to be reused.
• Masks used by patients / care givers/ close contacts during home care should be disinfected using ordinary bleach solution (5%) or sodium hypochlorite solution (1%) and then disposed of either by burning or deep burial.
• Used mask should be considered as potentially infected.
• If symptoms appear (cough/fever/difficulty in breathing), he/she should immediately inform the nearest health centre or call 011-23978046.
• Only an assigned family member should be tasked with taking care of the such person
• Avoid shaking the soiled linen or direct contact with skin
• Use disposable gloves when cleaning the surfaces or handling soiled linen • Wash hands after removing gloves
• Visitors should not be allowed
• In case the person being quarantined becomes symptomatic, all his close contacts will be home quarantined (for 14 days) and followed up for an additional 14days or till the report of such case turns out negative on lab testing
Because a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is not expected to become available until 2021 at the earliest, a key part of managing the COVID-19 pandemic is trying to decrease the epidemic peak, known as flattening the epidemic curve through various measures seeking to reduce the rate of new infections. Slowing the infection rate helps decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed, allowing for better treatment of current cases, and provides more time for a vaccine and treatment to be developed.
Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection in locations with an outbreak of the disease are similar to those published for other coronaviruses: stay home, avoid travel and public activities, wash hands with soap and warm water often and for at least 20 seconds (proper hand hygiene and also the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday to You" twice.), practice good respiratory hygiene and avoid touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. The CDC recommends covering up the mouth and nose with a tissue during any cough or sneeze and coughing or sneezing into the inside of the elbow if no tissue is available. They also recommend proper hand hygiene after any cough or sneeze. Social distancing strategies aim to reduce contact of infected persons with large groups by closing schools and workplaces, restricting travel, and canceling mass gatherings. Social distancing also includes that people stay 6 feet apart (about 1.80 meters), roughly the length of a full size bed/mattress
a) Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the quarantined person’s room (e.g. bed frames, tables etc.) daily with 1%Sodium Hypochlorite Solution.
b) Clean and disinfect toilet surfaces daily with regular household bleach solution/phenolic disinfectants
c) Clean the clothes and other linen used by the person separately using common household detergent and dry
a) The home quarantine period is for 14 days from contact with a confirmed case or earlier if a suspect case (of whom the index person is a contact) turns out negative on laboratory testing
Total number of passengers screened at airport : 14,90,303
Total number of Active COVID 2019 cases across India * : 256
Total number of Discharged/Cured COVID 2019 cases across India * : 22
Total number of Migrated COVID-19 Patient * : 1
Total number of Deaths due to COVID 2019 across India * : 4
1. Closure of all educational establishments (schools, universities etc), gyms, museums, cultural and social centres, swimming pools and theatres. Students should be advised to stay at home. Online education to be promoted.
2. Possibility of postponing exams may be explored. Ongoing exams to be conducted only after ensuring physical distance of one meter amongst students.
3. Encourage private sector organizations/employers to allow employees to work from home wherever feasible.
4. Meetings, as far as feasible, shall be done through video conferences. Minimize or reschedule meetings involving large number of people unless necessary.
5. Restaurants to ensure handwashing protocol and proper cleanliness of frequently touched surfaces. Ensure physical distancing (minimum 1metre) between tables; encourage open air seating where practical with adequate distancing.
6. Keep already planned weddings to a limited gathering, postpone all non-essential social and cultural gatherings.
7. Local authorities to have a dialogue with organizers of sporting events and competitions involving large gatherings and they may be advised to postpone such events.
8. Local authorities to have a dialogue with opinion leaders and religious leaders to regulate mass gatherings and should ensure no overcrowding/at least one metre distance between people.
9. Local authorities to have meeting with traders associations and other stakeholders to regulate hours, exhibit Do’s and Don’ts and take up a communication drive in market places like sabzi mandi, anaj mandi, bus depots, railway stations, post-offices etc., where essential services are provided.
10. All commercial activities must keep a distance of one meter between customers. Measures to reduce peak hour crowding in markets.
11. Non-essential travel should be avoided. Buses, Trains and aeroplanes to maximize social distancing in public transport besides ensuring regular and proper disinfection of surfaces.
12. Hospitals to follow necessary protocol related with COVID-19 management as prescribed and restrict family/friends/children visiting patients in hospitals.
13. Hygiene and physical distancing has to be maintained. Shaking hands and hugging as a matter of greeting to be avoided.
14. Special protective measures for delivery men/ women working in online ordering services.
15. Keep communities informed consistently and constantly.
Social distancing is a non-pharmaceutical infection prevention and control intervention implemented to avoid/decrease contact between those who are infected with a disease causing pathogen and those who are not, so as to stop or slow down the rate and extent of disease transmission in a community. This eventually leads to decrease in spread, morbidity and mortality due to the disease. In addition to the proposed interventions, the State/UT Governments may prescribe such other measures as they consider necessary.
