PETALING JAYA: As the Covid-19 crisis rages on, health experts advise patients undergoing home quarantine to be prepared with the necessary tools and knowledge to monitor their health.
Malaysia Medical Practitioners Coalition Association president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said Covid-19 patients under home surveillance could obtain certain devices beforehand to check their health status.
“Having an oximeter helps. Someone who is diagnosed with Covid-19 may feel breathless, but to confirm whether their lungs are truly affected by the disease, they need to have a pulse oximeter which they can get online.
“They can also get a thermometer, aside from a blood pressure monitor,” he said.
To minimise the risk of infecting others in the house, Dr Raj Kumar said patients must be disciplined in isolating themselves in one room.
“They should not come out of the room and food must be served to them. They must have separate utensils and their clothes should be washed separately.
“They should have an attached bathroom if possible,” he said, stressing on proper ventilation.
Dr Raj Kumar said Covid-19 patients under home quarantine could also be monitored by general practitioners (GPs) or medical personnel from health clinics.
“GPs are supposed to call the patients regularly and monitor their symptoms. If there are any worsening symptoms, we are supposed to advise them accordingly,” he said, admitting however that many among primary healthcare staff were also overwhelmed.
He added that there were guidelines and resources for undergoing home quarantine available on the Health Ministry’s website.
Covid-19 patients quarantined at home will have to complete the Home Assessment Tool on MySejahtera, where they will report their symptoms to be monitored by the virtual Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC).
Patients whose symptoms grow increasingly worse must seek medical attention at a clinic, hospital or a CAC immediately.
“Red flag” symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, inability to consume food or drinks orally, worsening lethargy, inability to walk without assistance, reduced level of consciousness, reduced urine output in the last 24 hours, worsening or persistent symptoms such as cough, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.
For children, warning signs include symptoms lasting more than seven days, lethargy, poor feeding, chest or abdominal pain, cold or clammy peripheries, signs of dehydration, seizures and change in mental state.
Universiti Malaya professor of occupational and public health Dr Victor Hoe advised that it was best for patients to be in contact with a GP for home monitoring, as it might be hard to judge what symptoms would be considered a “red flag”.
“This is because our current public healthcare system is overwhelmed and may not be able to cope with following up on all patients under home quarantine.
“The signs of deterioration for different individuals may be different, as it depends on your previous health conditions and your age.
“It may be difficult to understand or identify those signs.
“The next best thing to do is to engage your GP to help you monitor your daily symptoms. They will be the best person to do it as they have your medical records and will know your health condition,” he said.
As the number of Covid-19 infections remains high and with the healthcare system still under severe pressure, brought-in-dead (BID) cases have been on the increase.
There were 261 Covid-19 fatalities which were classified as brought-in-dead cases from Aug 1 to 8, according to the Health Ministry’s data.
This was more than double the 98 BID cases recorded a month earlier, from July 1-8.
More than two-thirds of the BID cases were in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, with 77% of cases from July 1-8 and 66% of cases from Aug 1-8 located in that region.