COVID-19 Home Recovery Scheme : Details and Procedures.

 

On Sep 14, MOH has expanded the Home Recovery Scheme 

Given that 98% of infected individuals have no or mild symptoms, infected are advised to self-isolate at home so hospital capacity would not be overwhelmed.

Here are the official guidelines according to MOH

Who qualifies for Home Recovery?

 From 15 Sep 2021, Home Recovery will be the default care management model for the following individuals

a) Fully vaccinated;
b) Aged 12 to 69 years old;
c) Have no or mild symptoms;
d) Have no severe co-morbidities or illnesses; and
e) Have no household members who are more than 80 years old, or are in one of the vulnerable groups (e.g. pregnant individuals; with a weakened immune response; or with multiple co-morbidities)

f) Parents of children above 5 with no comorbidities or underlying illness can bring their children home to recover.

Source: MOH

What happens when an individual is tested positive

•  Once an individual is tested COVID-19 positive, Home Recovery (HR) to start immediately

• The individual will need to set aside a room with an attached bathroom.

•  Initial remote assessment by telemedicine is provided on the first day of the HR to ensure that they are clinically well. 

•  Individuals will be issued with an isolation order and may be tagged with an electronic monitoring device to ensure they remain in their designated room.

•  Individuals will be provided information and advisories on symptoms. They can request a care package that contains a thermometer, pulse oximeter, surgical masks and hand sanitiser. 

•  HR patients are to avoid face to face contact with the rest of the household member

How to get discharge?

• HR may contact the designated telemedicine service provided they have been assigned to arrange for PCR swap on Day 6 of illness to end the HR period sooner. If the patient test result meets the discharge criteria ( PCR is negative or low viral load), he/she may be discharged on Day 7. Otherwise, it will end on Day 10 WITHOUT further test. 

•  Patients may request a medical certificate of up to 7 days from the telemedicine service provider if they need more time to rest and recuperate.

• In the event, an infected individual is undergoing HR and household members are on QO, the infected individual MAY be discharged earlier than household members. For a fully infected individual, the viral load will decrease very quickly and typically clears by Day 7.

How to know if you are to be quarantined at home? 
Source:  Actual cases that were quarantine (  Telegram Gp: SG Quarantine Order Support Group )

Here is what you can expect (Not in chronological order)

1) Call from contact tracer

2) QO SMS from MOH, it should come with a link for you to submit your daily ART.

3) You will need to do a PCR test at an RSC. Should you have elderly in the house, they will send someone down to do the PCR for them. This should take place within the first 48 hours. If your instructions provided is to go to a regional screening centre to swab, book asap and ask for ART kits there.

4) The PCR results may come slow via SMS, check via the HealthHub app if you wish to check the results faster

5) Daily ART is required to be done and submit via the link provided by MOH.

6) ART test kits sufficient for the 14 days are supposed to be provided by Certis. But expect delays.

For those who are identified as cases that are suitable for the Home Recovery Scheme, you would be informed of your Quarantine order.

IMPORTANT LINKS

For more information on QO conditions: https://go.gov.sg/qo-annex

For PCR Swab Tests:  https://go.gov.sg/qoswab

For submission of ART Results: https://go.gov.sg/mohartresults

For Surveillance Order Conditions: https://go.gov.sg/so-annex

For FAQ on SNH: https://go.gov.sg/faq-loa-shn-qo

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

• Certis hotline number: 63805072
• MOH QF number: 67104022
• MOH ART number: 6876 5830

Penalty for non-compliance

The penalty for non-compliance is a fine of $10,000 or up to 6 months jail.

Quarantine Allowance Scheme

For affected self-employed individuals or employers whose employees have either been placed under quarantine (“PUQ”) or were approved to act as a caregiver of a PUQ. The allowance is an ex-gratia payment of $100 per day for the term of the QO. It is unclear if this would apply to those under the Home Recovery Scheme.

To make a claim, download the form here. Claims are to be made within 90 days from the last day of QO

The Current Situation

There had been cases when there were a few days lag between PCR tests and Home Recovery confirmation. Additionally, there were cases of delays in the delivery of care kits. Given the increasing number of cases, such delays would not be surprising. Although there are over 1000 cases per day, the quarantine orders would be more as it will include family members especially those who are on Home Recovery.

There were also cases of difficulty in getting through the hotline. As there are no official support sources, the telegram group SG Quarantine Order Support Group would be useful as an alternative.

Otherwise, this article from ST would be useful for those who are waiting for MOH call.

Stay safe.