Rising cases leave PCMC to okay home quarantine option

Home isolation provision will not be allowed if the facility of separate bathroom and bedroom is unavailable at the patient’s home.

Pune With cases of Covid-19 seeing a rise in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the civic administration has allowed the home quarantine option for those with mild or no symptoms.

Medical staff taking swab test of a child at a Covid care centre at Sector 4, Moshi in Bhosari on June 23. (HT PHOTO)

On Tuesday, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) introduced the home isolation policy for Covid-19 patients. “Any person clinically diagnosed as an asymptomatic or mild symptomatic case, having completed mandatory five-day institutional quarantine, will be given an option of home isolation for the next 12 days,” tweeted PCMC.

The home isolation provision will not be allowed if the facility of separate bathroom and bedroom is unavailable at the patient’s home. PCMC field workers will be visiting the homes of patients to verify suitability of home isolation. The PCMC move is to free up its resources that are currently under burden due to rising coronavirus cases.

The city, as on June 23, has recorded 2,027 total positive cases from 265 on May 22. “PCMC partially lifted lockdown on May 16 and people movement saw a rise,” said Dr Rajendra Namdev Wable, dean, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital.

To check the increasing positive cases, PCMC plans to test 500 samples per day from its present figure of 300.

“There is only one way to check cases — people need to follow hand and respiratory hygiene. One should change his/her old habits to overcome this situation,” said Wable.

The first positive case of Covid-19 in PCMC was detected on March 10 when three persons were tested positive. First Covid death occurred on April 12, and the total death count in the month was three. In May, total deaths were eight, while the number increased to 35 till June 23.

“Most of the cases are coming from slums and we have increased testing in these areas. The rise in number will not have any impact on businesses in PCMC,” said Anna Bodade, assistant municipal commissioner PCMC.

PCMC has also upgraded mobile health checkup bus to collect swab test samples from patients’ doorstep.

Boxes

Covid figures in PCMC till June 23, 4 pm

Total positive cases: 2,027

Active cases: 811

Recovered: 1,181

Death: 35

Status of Active cases

Asymptomatic 651

Symptomatic 133

Critical 27

Age wise distinction

Children (0-12 years) 214

Teens (13-21 years) 257

Youths (22-39 years) 812

Adults (40-59 years) 525

Seniors (60 + years) 217