To deal with home isolation violations, admin spares the fines, uses counselling

District officials say the violations are plentiful and range from offences such as tearing off stickers denoting the isolation term, stepping out of homes during the quarantine period, and not answering calls from officials calling to check on patient’s daily health status.

With nearly 14,651 Covid-19 patients being placed in home isolation in the national capital, the major challenge facing the administration is on how to deal with the numerous violations of home isolation guidelines.

Instead of penalising such patients and their family members, which seems harsh given that they are already battling a dreadful virus, the district administrations are now trying to counsel them. Photo by Keshav Singh/Hindustan Times

District officials say the violations are plentiful and range from offences such as tearing off stickers denoting the isolation term, stepping out of homes during the quarantine period, and not answering calls from officials calling to check on patient’s daily health status. Instead of penalising such patients and their family members, which seems harsh given that they are already battling a dreadful virus, the district administrations are now trying to counsel them.

Health officials managing Covid care helplines across seven districts of Delhi said since the number of patients being placed in home isolation is increasing, violations of guidelines are also being reported.

Data procured by districts shows that every day, at least 20-25 calls are received on their local helpline numbers reporting such violations.

“We have given out helpline numbers on which any resident can call and report a violation. If they see a patient or a family member outside the house, they can report the incident. When we get such complaints, we get in touch with the patient or their caretaker. This is also followed by a detailed session of counselling of family members -- we inform them how their actions can affect the health of their neighbours,” said a helpline operator.

The operator also said the counselling sessions are either conducted by health department officials or civil defence volunteers.

Shashi Kaushal, district magistrate (northeast), said since most of the asymptotic patients are kept in home isolation, the violations, too, are numerous. The administration, she says, prefers to handle them tactically instead of penalising patients or initiating legal action against them.

“There have been instances of either the patient or a family member tearing off the home isolation sticker or stepping out of the house. We send our volunteers to counsel them and make them understand the importance of home isolation and the seriousness of the pandemic. The Covid-19 patient and his/her family members are already going through a lot and subjecting them to harsh punishments is not right,” Kaushal said.

Nitin Shakya, Covid-19 nodal officer in the New Delhi district, said though there are provisions to take legal action against violators, in most cases, counselling works. “The Epidemic Act allows the administration to lodge an FIR against repeat offenders and/or a fine of ₹500 for offences such as not wearing masks, but this step is hardly considered against patients in home isolation. We have seen that counselling works well to make patients and their families understand what they should not do,” he said.

Tanima Sarkar, a resident of south Delhi’s Kalkaji, who completed her home isolation along with two others of her family on Friday, said they were reported by a neighbour after her brother stepped outside to dispose of trash.

“While our waste was collected as biomedical waste, the garbage from the rest of the house was accumulating. My brother had tested negative for Covid-19 and we had zero interactions with him. After the complaint, we had a session with officials and we explained the reason for him stepping out, and the administration arranged for sanitation workers to pick up our garbage. This 14-day isolation is not easy for anyone but the health teams were cooperative,” she said.

A senior official of the central district also said any penal or legal action is generally avoided. “Patients are already going through a lot of pain and social stigma and booking them for violations will only make things worse. We stick to counselling and persuade them to follow rules for the greater good of society,” the official, on condition of anonymity, said.

Two health officials from east and south districts, who have been handling such complaints, said apart from talking to patients in case the violations continue, patients are referred to get professional help.

“Many patients are emotionally affected on testing positive for the virus. There is a sense of shame, guilt and also frustration. Many tear off the posters and stickers only because they do not want neighbours to know that they have contracted the infection, fearing the stigma. When we speak to patients, some have also shown violent tendencies and in such cases, we have to involve a professional psychiatrist, who then conducts sessions simultaneously during the course of the Covid-19 treatment,” an east Delhi health official, on condition of anonymity, said.