Guidelines for COVID19 Quarantine by MOH

MoH guidelines for quarantine at home or non-healthcare settings

‘Home quarantine’ is defined as the quarantining of visibly healthy, possible high-risk contacts separately in non-healthcare settings.

The following measures must be followed:

Use of a separate room with adequate ventilation at home if possible away from other members of the household.
Maintain a social distance of at least one meter between family members.
Use of a separate bathroom.
If sharing the same bathroom, taps, doorknobs and utensils must be cleaned with soap and water after use by the quarantined member.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Use a thermometer to monitor body temperature twice a day. If they get fever, cough, or experience difficulty in breathing, get a sore throat, body aches and pain, including flu-like symptoms, immediately inform the MOH/PHI of the area.
Dispose used facemasks and gloves into a closed container.
Use separate cutlery, crockery and linen.
Wash used cutlery, crockery and linen with soap and water.
Minimise number of visitors to the home, and do not interact with visitors.
Frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and maintain alcohol-based hand hygiene in instances where hand-washing facilities are inadequate.

Public health supervision steps for self-monitored quarantine

MOH is responsible for field supervision and follow up of home quarantined persons.
MOH assigns Public Health Inspector (PHI) to monitor quarantined persons.
PHI will check the health status daily either in person or by telephone or SMS throughout the 14-day quarantine period.

What to do if a quarantined person displays COVID-19 symptoms:

Inform PHI immediately to inform the MOH and Regional Epidemiologist.
1990 on-call ambulance (Suwaseriya) service” will transport suspected patient to the nearest government hospital or designated hospital.
Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) and Provincial Director of Health Services (PDHS) will support in administrative activities and Provincial/District Consultant Community Physicians (CCP) and Regional Epidemiologist will provide technical support.

Testing and Treatment Centres

Testing for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka is available in public healthcare facilities and at major private hospitals such as Asiri, Nawaloka, Durdans, and Lanka Hospitals.

The following hospitals test and treat individuals for COVID-19:

1. National Institute of Infectious Diseases

2. National Hospital of Sri Lanka

3. Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children

4. Castle Street Hospital for Women

5. Base Hospital Mulleriyawa

6. North Colombo Teaching Hospital

7. District General Hospital Negombo

8. District General Hospital Gampaha

9. National Hospital Kandy

10. Teaching Hospital Karapitiya

11. District General Hospital Hambantota

12. Teaching Hospital Jaffna

13. Teaching Hospital Batticaloa

14. Teaching Hospital Anuradhapura

15. Provincial General Hospital Kurunegala

16. Provincial General Hospital Badulla

17. Teaching Hospital Ratnapura

18. Colombo North Teaching Hospital – Ragama

19. District General Hospital Chilaw

20. District General Hospital Vavuniya (Quarantine in Chettikulam)

For more information, please login at:

http://epid.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/Circulars/Corona_virus/guidelines-ofhome-quarantine.pdf

https://www.who.int/srilanka/covid-19

STAY INFORMED ABOUT COVID-19

Keep abreast of news about the pandemic at www.epid.gov.lk

For help, medical advice, or information, call us on 0773 511 511.

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