1 room, 5 people, how do we home quarantine?

We live in a singleroom chawl How will we selfisolate here Why are we shunted out of quarantine facilities even before our reports come back negativerdquo asks an asymptomatic COVID19 patient who lives with her daughter husband and his parents in WorliAs asymptomatic COVID19 cases are being discharged and told to stay in home quarantine those who live in chawl rooms of barely 180225 sqft with five to seven family members in it are concerned about transmitting COVID19 to others Many of them live with vulnerable senior citizens most of whom have ailments like diabetes hypertension and even cardiac or neurological issuesldquoOur the woman and her motherinlaw samples were first taken on April 25 and the report came back positive We were then sent to the quarantine centre at NSCI On May 1 we tested negative but on May 4 our report came back positive but we were still told to home quarantine ourselves I have a fouryearold daughter How can we stay with our family in a single room Who will be responsible if anything happens to my familyrdquo asked the woman who lives in BDD chawl Worli Several other asymptomatic patients at the NSCI Centre were told to homequarantine after their reports came back negativeSenior allergy and asthma specialist Dr Wiqar Shaikh feared that in Mumbai where space constraints are an issue and which already is a COVID19 red zone there is a high risk of community spread of not only COVID19 but soon monsoonrelated ailments toomidday had on Tuesday reported Monsoon ailments may worsen COVID situation and a day later Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray directed district authorities to be prepared to deal with monsoon related ailmentsPointing to the Centres directives on home quarantine Dr Shaikh said ldquoThe Union health ministry guidelines important points are a stay in well ventilated single room with attached separate toilet if another family member needs to stay in the same room it is advisable that the two maintain a distance of at least one meter b it is important for elderly people pregnant woman children and patients with comorbidities to stay away from the quarantined person But unfortunately these guidelines cannot be followed in slums and chawlsrdquoQuarantine at centreDr Shaikh suggested that the asymptomatic COVID19 patients should be compulsorily quarantined at designated centres for 14 days before they are sent back homeAdvocate Godfrey Pimenta who is also the foundertrustee of Watchdog Foundation said ldquoWe have been receiving numerous complaints wherein people even after showing symptoms do not want to go to quarantine centres fearing social stigma While those who come forward are admitted at the centres for a few days and then sent to home quarantine which is impossible in shanties and chawls They need to follow the central health ministry guidelines failing which we will write to the CM and central health officialsrdquoEducate patientsDr Ketan Vagholkar professor of surgery at D Y Patil medical college agreed that maintaining social distance for many is difficult In such a case asymptomatic patients should be educated about COVID19 related complications so that they seek immediate medical help as soon as they start showing symptoms There is also a need to uproot the stigma attached to the disease he said adding that quarantine centres can rope in health counsellors to educate patients at the time of dischargeCommunity spreadDr Wiqar Shaikh added ldquoThe average slum house in India is 100 sq feet and around 1440 people share one public toilet in Dharavi While in New York there are 10000 people per sq km in Dharavi there are 576923 people per sq km Of these 78 per cent lack water which means the person need to carry his own water that is stored in drums and cans In India 29 per cent of the population and in Mumbai 62 per ent lives in slums Under these circumstances it is impossible for a slum dweller or a chawl dweller in Mumbai to home quarantine In this scenario Mumbai which is already a red zone is at high risk of community spread of COVID as well as monsoon related ailmentsrdquoCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news