UP to offer paid isolation facility for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients with no comorbidities

Lucknow, July 18: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday decided to offer paid isolation facilities to asymptomatic and mild Covid-19 patients in two districts, Ghaziabad and Lucknow.

The offer will be optional for those asymptomatic patients who do not have any co-morbid condition, says Amit Mohan Prasad, the Additional Chief Secretary.

The district authorities of Ghaziabad and Lucknow now are instructed to acquire hotel and equip it with facilities in consonance with the Covid-19 protocol to isolate patients. The paid isolation facility will be optional.

This paid isolation facility is not allowed for the Covid-19 patients who have full blown symptoms and co-morbid conditions, elderly patients, pregnant women and children below 10 years of age as they require life support systems and a focused medical attention, which only a designated hospital can provide.

"It will be a paid facility wherein those who want to avail it will have to pay a nominal Rs 1,000 per day for food and lodging till their stay. They will have to shell out an additional Rs 2,000 towards the treatment expenses as the state government will depute a team of doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff there for their treatment," the official said.

UP has no provision of home quarantine of asymptomatic patients as the fear of virus spreading through them will always be there.

As demands came from many patients for specialised and personalised isolation facilities this decision of paid isolation has been taken, said Prasad.

Meanwhile, the number of virus effected people in UP is 45,163 following death more than 1,000. The state became the first state to test 54,207 coronavirus samples in a single day on Friday.