Adapted from WHO ‘Home care for patients with COVID-19 presenting with mild symptoms and management of their contacts’
Limit Contact
- Only one healthy person should provide care
- Do not share personal items with the ill person, like towels, toothbrushes, cutlery or electronic devices
- Use a separate bathroom from the ill person if possible. If not possible, the ill person should put the toilet lid down before flushing
Protect yourself
- If possible, people who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 should not care for someone with COVID-19.
- These people include elderly persons, those with chronic medical conditions (e.g., heart disease, diabetes) or compromised immune systems
- If you need to be within 2 metres of the ill person, wear a face mask, disposable gloves and eye protection.
- Wear disposable gloves when touching the ill person, their environment and soiled items or surfaces.
- Do not re-use face masks or gloves.
- Clean your hands often for at least 20 seconds, especially after contact with the ill person and after removing gloves, face masks and eye protection.
- Dry your hands with disposable paper towels.
- If not available, use a reusable towel and replace it when it becomes wet.
- You can also remove dirt with a wet wipe and then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Keep your environment clean
- Place used face masks, gloves and other contaminated items in a lined container, secure the contents and dispose of them with other household waste.
- Place possibly contaminated laundry into a container with a plastic liner and do not shake.
- Wash with regular laundry soap and hot water (60-90°C), and dry well.
- Clothing and linens belonging to the ill person can be washed with other laundry.
- At least once daily clean and disinfect surfaces that people touch often, such as toilets, laundry containers, bedside tables, doorknobs, phones and television remotes.
- High-touch electronic devices (e.g., keyboards, touch screens) may be disinfected with 70% alcohol (e.g., alcohol prep wipes) at least daily.
Monitor yourself for symptoms
- If you have always used the recommended precautions, then monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days following your last contact with the ill person.
- If you have had direct contact with body fluids of the ill person (e.g., were coughed or sneezed on when you weren’t wearing a face mask), contact your health care provider for further instructions
- If you develop symptoms, isolate yourself as quickly as possible and contact your health care provider for further instructions
