After family members get Covid-19, Dr M advises against home quarantine

 

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has advised the government to reconsider mandating home quarantine for low-risk Covid-19 patients.

Mahathir, a former medical practitioner, issued this advice after one of his family members was subjected to home quarantine and went on to infect the rest of their household.

"The problem was, that person was (undergoing) home quarantine and the virus spread to family members. I believe that person could not be admitted to a hospital earlier because too many have been infected. Every day, around 4,000 people.

"However, if an infected person is at home, the family members will be infected. Then more people will be infected. They (Covid-19 positive patients) should be quarantined away from family members," wrote Mahathir on his blog.

Currently, the Health Ministry's protocols are to classify those who test positive for Covid-19 into four categories, with only Category 1 (no symptoms) and Category 2 (mild symptoms) being issued home quarantine orders.

In the case of Mahathir's kin, the Covid-19 patient underwent home quarantine before developing severe symptoms. Only then were they hospitalised.

Meanwhile, Mahathir suggested that existing quarantine centres are not up to standards.

"From the pictures, the beds are too close to each other and when a VIP visits, the patients would gather. This can cause the virus to spread," he said.

Mahathir said there are many ways to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases and he hoped experts will share their views with the government.

"We must appreciate the services of the health director-general, but this pandemic is too big to be tackled by just one person," he said.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported the highest number of active Covid-19 cases to date (41,755) and the highest number needing intensive care (260).

These numbers do not include those who are categorised as "suspected" or "probable" for Covid-19 and have already been warded. - Mkini