SINGAPORE — From Sunday (Oct 10), home recovery will be the default care arrangement for anyone who is infected with Covid-19 and has mild or no symptoms, including unvaccinated individuals. 

The Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday that only individuals falling under the following groups will be taken to a hospital or a community care facility to recover: 

• Partially or unvaccinated individuals aged 50 and older
• Vaccinated persons aged 80 and older
• Children younger than one year old and children aged one to four who have been assessed to be clinically unsuitable for home recovery

Patients on home recovery will also no longer need to test negative for Covid-19 on the seventh day of their isolation period. Instead, they will automatically be allowed to end their isolation based on a set time period from when they were first diagnosed to be infected. 

For vaccinated people as well as children aged 12 and below, the isolation period will last for 10 days. For unvaccinated individuals above the age of 12, it will last for 14 days, MOH said. 

Individuals will be provided an electronic discharge memo marking the end of their isolation.

Explaining the change, MOH said that evidence has shown that viral loads in infected individuals will decline and reach undetectable or non-infectious levels with time.

The simplification of the home recovery system is a response to the mounting frustration experienced by those on the protocol who said that there has been a lack of clear instructions from the authorities.

MOH had previously admitted that the system was “much strained” by the recent surge in Covid-19 cases and the earlier expansions of the home recovery protocol.

In its latest update on Saturday, the ministry said that more than 19,000 patients have been recovering at home since the start of the programme on Sept 15. 

Of these, more than 8,000 have fully recovered and been discharged.

It explained that the expansion of the home recovery scheme to cover unvaccinated people aged between 12 and 49 was because it assessed that the severity of illness for this group is low.

As for expanding the home recovery programme to vaccinated seniors aged 70 to 79, MOH said that given the clinical observations and the risk of falling associated with vaccinated seniors in unfamiliar environments, it judged that it would be safer for this group to recover in the familiar surroundings of their home. This arrangement will begin on Oct 16. 

“However, as a precaution, individuals from both groups would be assigned to a healthcare provider and they should monitor their health closely, including their oxygen level, during the isolation period and consult the healthcare provider early should there be any significant deterioration in their health,” MOH said.

Default home recovery was also extended to children aged five to 11 because MOH has found that infections are not serious for the vast majority of them.

“Furthermore, parents have often requested that children be allowed to recover at home, where there are caregivers from the family,” the ministry said.

As for children aged one to four, MOH will continue to extend home recovery to them provided that they are first clinically assessed at the hospitals to be suitable for home recovery.

It said that patients on home recovery will continue to have 24-hour access to medical support.

They may reach out to existing telemedicine providers, any polyclinic or Public Health Preparedness Clinic activated during this pandemic who have come onboard the programme. 

For non-medical assistance, they may contact the Home Recovery Buddy Hotline at 6874-4939.