SINGAPORE, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapore would pilot a home isolation for fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms soon, the Ministry of Health said in a press release on Thursday.
With much more local and global data showing that fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients have a much lower risk of developing severe disease, "we are piloting a home-centric care model" for the management of COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms from Aug. 30, said the ministry in a statement.
These patients will spend the first few days in a medical facility before moving to home isolation. By then, the viral loads of vaccinated patients would have dropped, said MOH.
The patients and their household members must both be fully vaccinated and must not belong to any vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or immunocompromised.
These patients also need to have a suitable home setting, where they can be isolated from the rest of their household, MOH added.
During Home Isolation, the patients and their household members are required to remain in their place of residence, and the patients will be provided with access to 24/7 telemedicine services.
The patients will be subject to a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) swab on the ninth day of illness to determine if they could be discharged from isolation, while all household members will be placed on a daily Antigen Rapid Test (ART) testing regimen for early detection of potential infection.
MOH said they would closely monitor the pilot's outcomes, and study if more patients may benefit from this mode of recovery in a safe manner.
MOH also announced Thursday a series of measures to further ease the community measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The easing involves mainly increasing the size of masked-on events and religious services.
According to MOH, 77 percent of the population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Aug. 17, and 82 percent has received at least one dose, adding that there is clear evidence that vaccination can significantly reduce severe illnesses and deaths. Enditem
