Most cases of COVID-19 are mild, do not require hospitalization and isolation is carried out at home, monitoring the evolution. How should we act if someone in our family or who lives under our same roof is diagnosed with coronavirus and must stay at home? The Ministry of Health has published a guide on the management of home cases of the coronavirus. These are the main guidelines.
It is not necessary for the other members to leave the home, it will be enough to follow strict hygiene and coexistence guidelines. Unless family members have risk factors for complications for coronavirus: chronic heart, lung, kidney disease, immunosuppression, diabetes or pregnancy.
- Ideally, the patient can be in a room for exclusive use. The door to the room has to be closed. If that is not possible, you must ensure that you are at a minimum distance of 2 meters from the other inhabitants of the house.
- When the patient has to move due to a major cause - it is not about going to have coffee on the sofa, but going to the bathroom, for example - he will do so with a surgical mask and wash his hands as indicated in the protocols.
- The common areas have to be well ventilated. It is also important that the isolation room has an outside window. Forced drafts of heating or air conditioning air must be avoided.
- Use your mobile to communicate with the patient.
- It is recommended that the patient have a bath for himself. If the house only has one bathroom, you will need to clean it each time you use it with household bleach. The sick person must have his own bathroom utensils. Special attention must be paid to hand washing, either with soap and water or with a hydroalcoholic solution. Do not share towels with the sick person. They must be washed every day at more than 60º.
- The sick person has to follow the contagion prevention measures: cover their mouth and nose with a handkerchief when coughing or sneezing or do it on the flexed elbow. You will need to wash your hands immediately afterwards.
- In the isolation room there must be a garbage can, with a pedal opening lid and inside a plastic bag that closes hermetically for waste: tissues, masks …
- You cannot go visit the sick person.
- It is advisable to keep a written record of the people entering and leaving the room.
- You have to wash clothes, bedding, towels, etc. of the patient at more than 60º in the washing machine, with the usual detergent. It is advisable to let it dry completely. Dirty clothes, until washed, must be in a zip-lock plastic bag. Above all, do not shake it.
- The cutlery, glasses, plates and other utensils should be washed with hot water and soap, ideally in the dishwasher.
- Frequently touched surfaces (bedside tables, box springs, bedroom furniture), bathroom surfaces and the toilet should be cleaned and disinfected daily with a household disinfectant containing bleach at a 1: 100 dilution (1 part bleach and 99 parts of water) prepared the same day it is to be used. The person in charge of cleaning must protect himself with gloves and a mask. After cleaning, wash your hands.
