More Covid-19 Vaccinated Patients, Infected Children Aged 5+ Can Recover At Home, Health News & Top Stories

SINGAPORE – A program let fully vaccinated Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms recover at home will be expanded from next week to become the default mode of care for more patients.

It will start with the youngest and eventually include people up to 50 years old.

Based on current figures, that will represent around half of the active cases of Covid-19 here.

Parents of infected children aged five and over will now also be encouraged to bring their infected children home for recovery, if they are assessed by the hospital as medically eligible.

These measures taken by the authorities follow a successful pilot project of the program since August 30 involving 21 patients. Of this group, nine have been discharged from hospital while the rest remain clinically well, the Department of Health (MOH) said on Friday (September 10).

“Based on the encouraging pilot results, we will be expanding home recovery as the default care management protocol for more fully immunized people starting September 15,” the ministry said.

The plan will be gradually extended to people aged 50 and under who do not have significant co-morbidities or underlying illnesses.

“This is because these people are generally doing well, have no symptoms or have mild symptoms, and are able to take care of themselves at home,” the health ministry said.

“Once informed of their positive Covid-19 results, these people should immediately self-isolate at home.”

Co-morbidity refers to the presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a press conference of the Multi-Ministerial Covid-19 Working Group on Friday that the pivot to home recovery is very important, as it will free up hospital beds for those who really need medical attention.

While he would have liked to have had more time to expand the home recovery pilot before taking a bigger step, “we don’t have time to do it (and) we will be implementing it in the next few days. “, he added.

Indeed, the coming weeks will be a critical time, where rising infections could translate into increased demand for hospital beds and intensive care units, the health ministry said.

He felt that Singapore will soon reach more than 1,000 daily cases, given the current trajectory and intensified tests.

“Today, the vast majority of infected patients are hospitalized further for observation (and) most are discharged without incident,” Ong noted.

To be eligible for the program, a fully immunized patient must have a suitable home where they can be isolated from the rest of the household.

This includes having a bedroom with an adjoining toilet. Household members should also be fully immunized and not belong to any vulnerable group, such as the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.

These people will be equipped with care packs to monitor their symptoms and will have access to 24/7 telemedicine support for any medical assistance.

Regarding young Covid-19 patients, the Department of Health said parents have asked to bring their infected children home because they are often doing well without any symptoms.

“We have been careful and admitted the children to hospitals to provide them with dedicated medical care,” the health ministry said.

“However, we will now allow and encourage parents to bring their infected children home, if they are at least five years old and do not have any underlying comorbidities or illnesses.”

These children will first be assessed by the hospital. If they are found to be clinically fit for home recovery, they will be allowed to recover at home.

The health ministry also said on Friday that it shortened the length of isolation for fully vaccinated Covid-19 cases since Tuesday, due to evidence that those who are vaccinated recover faster than those who are not.

These cases can be released as early as seven days after the onset of their illness if they have an undetectable or very low viral load, which indicates they are no longer infectious, the ministry said.

Unvaccinated patients will continue to be discharged from isolation for at least 14 days after the onset of their illness.

These changes will not apply to dormitory residents at this time due to the greater risk of transmission given the density of their living conditions, the health ministry added.

Read more – Shorter quarantine, more Covid-19 patients can recover at home: new measures at a glance