Home tests, free food, basic services and monitoring device make home quarantine effective in Abu Dhabi

Coronavirus patients on home quarantine in Abu Dhabi Emirate do not need to visit a test centre for subsequent tests until they get a negative result, as a medical team collects their samples from home, the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi, DoH, told Emirates News Agency, WAM.

The Home Isolation Programme initiated by the DoH and Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre since early April also offers free food and basic services such as tele-consultations, laundry and waste management that make the patients’ home quarantine comfortable.

The patients have to wear a monitoring device (a smart watch), which helps the authorities to track and ensure that they are strictly confined to their home, it added, emphasising that all these services are free of cost.

The smart watches help identity and track the geographical location of the patient and ensure that he or she does not leave home and jeopardise the community health.

Eligibility for home quarantine Adults aged between 18 and 59, after tested positive for COVID-19, are given the option of home quarantine, if they are asymptomatic or having mild symptoms and no risk factors, the DoH explained.

Having a smart phone and a single room with good ventilation and a separate toilet at home are the other conditions to be eligible for home quarantine.

"The patient should be a responsible educated person who is committed to follow instructions on home isolation and treatment whenever necessary," the DoH said.

High-risk patients such as people above 60 years and others with chronic cardiac or respiratory diseases, and any other serious ailments affecting their immunity system, and others who require a direct healthcare support are not eligible for self-isolation at home, the DoH explained.

Basic services Explaining the basic services, the department said, all home-quarantined patients under the programme have an access to tele-consultation services by doctors.

A catering company is delivering three meals a day to the patients. A patient gets laundry services four times during the two weeks – the expected duration of the quarantine.

They also get waste collection services twice a week, the DoH said.

Penalty for violators Those who violate the rules on home isolation are imposed a fine as per the updated list of penalties and violations issued by the Attorney General.

As WAM reported on 19th May, quoting Salem Al Zaabi, Acting Chief of the Emergency and Crisis Prosecution, those who repeat the violation of disobeying hospital or home quarantine rules implemented through e-monitoring system, would be referred to the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority, NCEMA, Prosecution for legal action.

The Prosecution may refer the violators to the court that may sentence them with an imprisonment of not more than six months and/or a fine of AED100,000, in addition to publishing photos of violators in the newspapers as per the Public Prosecutor's decision.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.