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Q&A: At-home COVID-19 treatment



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당국, 새로워진 재택치료 방안 발표... 재택치료 Q&A

Letting people recover from the virus at home has become a major issue here in the nation.
Authorities recently announced some changes to ensure safety of those under quarantine at home and all those involved.
Choi Won-jong explains what they are.
Health authorities in South Korea are expanding at-home recovery from COVID-19 nationwide.
In the past... only people under 70 years old were allowed to stay at home when they got the virus.
They had to be asymptomatic and they had to agree to forego the use of a hospital.
BUT now... it's different.
Due to overwhelming demand... causing a shortage of hospital beds nationwide,... anyone who is asymptomatic can choose to stay at home regardless of their age.
Hospital beds will only go to people who need them... or who have no other place to stay.
What does at-home treatment look like?
For at-home treatment, individual COVID-19 patients will get a box of medical supplies.
There are four things you get:... a fingertip pulse oximeter...a thermometer,... medicines for fever... and sanitizer.
They will get regular health check-in... TWO or THREE times a day... by phone or on the app.
In case of an emergency,... there's a 24-hour hotline, and in the worst case, patients will be transported to hospital.
The duration of at-home treatment is 10 days, but they're only monitored for 7 days.
On day 10 at home,... people are free to go.
However, if people who live with Covid patients are fully vaccinated, they too have to quarantine for seven days... and then they can go back to work or school with a negative PCR test.
HOWEVER... if they are unvaccinated... they need to stay home for an extra 10 days... so 17 days in total.
What if you have to share a bathroom at home... are there any specific guidelines to prevent the further spread at home?
The health authorities did urge patients to separate themselves safely... from the rest of the family.
If there's no way to avoid contact,... then the bathroom at least... needs to be sanitized as much as possible.
For residents of apartments where many people live closely together,... the key is frequent ventilation.
Also, to prevent the spread of the virus through the house, it's recommended to seal the bathroom vent with plastic bags and duct tape if possible.
Starting December 8th,... people who have to stay home are getting payments from the government.
BUT this is only for those who are fully vaccinated... those who've already once recovered from Covid,... those who can't get vaccinated due to underlying conditions... and those under the age of 18.
Meeting those conditions, a person who lives by themselves... would get 550-thousand won, or around 475 U.S. dollars.
A household of four people 1-point-3-6 million won, which is more than a thousand dollars.
Choi Won-jong, Arirang News.

#COVID19 #infection #treatment

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Health
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