Laos may allow Covid-19 patients to self-isolate and get treatment at home.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

Laos said today that it intends to allow anyone sick with Covid-19, or those who have had intimate contact with an infected person, to self-isolate and get at-home care.

In a statement released today by the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, Dr. Lattanaxay Phetsouvanh, Director-General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, said that with the increased community spread experienced by several provinces in Laos, central hospitals and field hospitals are reaching capacity.

 

Despite the continuous expansion of field hospitals in several areas, he believes medical personnel will soon be unable to appropriately respond to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, implying that self-isolation and at-home care would become necessary.

Such policies, according to Dr. Lattanaxay, would only be implemented if hospitals reached capacity; nevertheless, those who had intimate contact with Covid-19 patients would be able to self-isolate at home if their dwelling satisfied certain criteria.

 

According to the new requirements, persons who are self-isolating must have separate or self-contained sleeping quarters and toilet facilities, and they must stay at home for 14 days after first coming into contact with an infected person.

 

Self-isolated people would need to keep track of their symptoms, such as checking their temperature and monitoring coughing, shortness of breath, and a loss of smell or taste. According to Dr. Lattanaxay, people would also need to stay away from other members of the home, particularly those in high-risk categories.

 

Meanwhile, he suggested that in the near future, at-home treatment for Covid-19 might be a possibility, with those with minor symptoms of the virus being able to relax and recover at home.

 

According to Dr. Lattanaxay, this would allow hospitals to focus on more urgent cases while also making room for individuals with underlying illnesses.

 

In recent weeks, Laos has seen a surge in community cases of Covid-19, with an outbreak at garment manufacturers in Vientiane Capital placing the country's capital under lockdown for two weeks.

 

Phouvong Vongkhamsao, Deputy Mayor of Vientiane Capital, remarked that a balance must be made between public health, effective governance, and economic measures, with the city loosening measures in regions where there is no community spread, after the city completed a full lockdown.