COVID-19: NCDC says no home care for elderly, symptomatic patients

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has ruled out elderly patients and those with severe symptoms from home care treatment for COVID-19.

Since Nigeria recorded its first case of the virus in February 2020, government has been managing those who tested positive in designated isolation/treatment centres in order to prevent them from infecting others.

With the increasing confirmed cases stretching the bed spaces available in the centres, the government decided that some patients can be treated at home.

The NCDC, in a document tagged “Interim guidelines for home care of confirmed COVID-19 cases” published on Saturday, however, said not all who tested positive to the virus can be treated outside isolation centres.

Apart from age and symptoms, the centre also said patients who lack adequate home accommodation should also not be considered for home care.

“Those not recommended (for home care) include: any age with severe symptoms; lack of adequate self-isolation facilities e.g. inadequate home accommodation; elderly patients; patients with two or more co-morbidities; any ‘high risk’ patient based on a clinical risk assessment done by a qualified clinician,” the document read.

According to the guidelines, those recommended for home care with “mild caution” are patients below 50 years who are clinically stable with no history of non-communicable disease and patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

Such patients must ensure normal oxygen saturation (SpO2 ≥ 95% on room air) as well as available space for optimal self-isolation.

Those recommended for home care with “moderate caution” are patients who are over 50 – 70 years and are clinically stable with no history of any co-comorbidity.

They must be asymptomatic or patients with mild symptoms.

The NCDC said the interim recommendations for home care were based on the current epidemiology of the disease in Nigeria. Punch