To prevent overcrowding of COVID-19 patients (F0) at medical facilities, improve the quality of care and treatment, and provide a comfortable environment for a faster recovery, the Department of Health has recently issued the “Guidelines for implementing home-based care and health monitoring for COVID-19 patients.”

Accordingly, there are two cases where F0 patients can receive home-based care and health monitoring. Case 1 involves asymptomatic F0 patients currently being treated at medical facilities who meet discharge criteria on the 7th day; they will continue medical surveillance at home or their place of residence for the following 14 days. Case 2 involves newly detected asymptomatic F0 cases in the community with no risk factors (no underlying conditions or stable underlying conditions, and no obesity); these individuals will be isolated at home for 14 days.

In this rollout of home-based care and monitoring, the responsibilities of medical facilities and local authorities are clearly and specifically assigned:

• The COVID-19 Steering Committee of each district shall establish a tele-consultation group of doctors for F0 patients. This group includes doctors from medical centers, ward health stations, private medical facilities, and retired doctors residing in the area.

• The Medical Center shall organize a 24/7 hotline to receive calls from F0 patients (when needed) to provide guidance on home care, home examination, or instructions on visiting health stations, district hospitals, or private clinics for medical check-ups.

• The 115 Emergency Center of the city is responsible for handling emergency calls from F0 patients with severe symptoms at home. The center utilizes a fleet of ambulances, patient transport vehicles, and taxis (distributed across 5 clusters: Binh Tan, Binh Chanh, District 10, District 12, and Thu Duc City) to transport patients to the nearest hospitals.

• The Medical Center is responsible for organizing home-based sample collection for COVID-19 testing on the 14th day via rapid test or PCR. If the result is negative, the home isolation period will be concluded.

Health Stations are responsible for monitoring the medical declaration results of those isolated at home (via the administrative account of the “Medical Declaration” app provided by the Department of Health). They must promptly contact individuals to provide consultation or appropriate handling if symptoms are detected through their declarations. Daily, they shall summarize and report the health status of all home-isolated individuals in the area to the District Medical Center.

Community COVID-19 Teams and Management Task Forces in lockdown areas are responsible for communicating with and encouraging F0 patients and their families to strictly follow their signed commitments and monitoring their compliance. Their duties include: disseminating essential information for residents in lockdown areas; providing regulations on waste collection and disposal; recording contact numbers of each household with home-isolated members to provide support when needed; and reporting compliance status to the Ward/Commune COVID-19 Steering Committee.

Rapid Response Teams (including doctors and nurses from district hospitals, police officers, and volunteers, etc.) shall be established. Their contact numbers must be provided to home-isolated F0 patients for emergency support. These teams shall utilize district hospital ambulances when necessary.

In cases of non-compliance with the commitment, the COVID-19 Steering Committee will issue a decision to transfer the F0 patient to a centralized isolation facility for continued care. Depending on the severity of the violation, local authorities will apply appropriate penalties according to regulations.

Furthermore, the document provides guidelines for F0 patients, their caregivers, and co-residents, as well as specific requirements for home isolation facilities. Notably, F0 patients or caregivers must immediately contact medical staff if any of the following signs appear: fever above 38°C, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of smell/taste, chest pain, chest tightness, or shortness of breath (inability to deep breathe and hold breath for 10 seconds), or a respiratory rate > 20 breaths/minute.

In case of severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath characterized by gasping, respiratory rate > 30 breaths/minute, lethargy, sluggishness, cyanosis (blue lips or extremities), or SpO2 < 95%, immediately call the “115” hotline or the District Rapid Response Team for timely emergency assistance.

(According to HCDC)