New home isolation norms amidst 3rd wave, Omicron rise

New Delhi, Jan 05: The Union Government has issued new home isolation guidelines today. The decision to issue new guidelines was taken amidst the third wave and surge in Omicron cases in the country.

Under the new rules a patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and no fever for 3 successive days. The government said that there is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over.

The patient must isolate himself from other household members, stay in the identified room and away from other people in the home, especially the elderly. The patient must wear a triple layered mask at all times and the same should be discarded after 8 hours of use.

Several states have issued fresh guidelines to control the surge. India today reported 58,097 COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, India's cases crossed the 50k mark with several states like West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra reporting a surge.

Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Goa and Telangana together contributed to the 50k mark.

Maharashtra at 18,466 reported the highest number of cases followed by Bengal with 9,073. Delhi was next on the list with 5,481 cases. According to India Today, the rest of the states contributing to the COVID-19 case are Karnataka (2,479), Tamil Nadu (2,731), Gujarat (2,265), Rajasthan (1,137), Andhra Pradesh (334), Bihar (893), Odisha (680), Himachal (260), Kerala (3,640), Punjab (1,027), Goa (592), Telangana (1,052).

India's COVID-19 situation:

• 58,097 cases reported in 24 hours
• Cases up 6 times in 9 days
• Deaths: 534
• Recoveries: 15,389
• Active cases: 2,14,004
• Total recoveries: 3,43,21,803
• Death toll: 4,82,551
• Vaccinations administered: 147.2 crore doses

GUIDELINES FOR HOME-ISOLATION: