Isolation at home

Health professionals decide if a person is a candidate for home isolation by evaluating the clinical criteria and the circumstances of their health and social environment.

The duration of the isolation varies according to the assessment of each particular case and is determined by the healthcare professionals, as well as the monitoring that they carry out.

Healthcare professionals will remain in contact with the affected person and monitor the case.

The person who is isolated may continue to live with the people in their home but everyone must follow the instructions of the healthcare professionals. It is important to avoid contact with vulnerable people and keep away from people over 65, anyone who is chronically ill, pregnant women, and children under five years of age.

Wear the mask when using common areas of the house.

Maintaining hygiene measures (washing hands, preventing transmission of the illness by coughing or sneezing).

Avoiding being close (at least 1.5-2 metres) to people living in the same household, and ensuring that contact, even when at a distance, is of a short duration (15 minutes maximum).

An individual bedroom with a door that must remain closed.

The room must have good ventilation to the outside (the window should not open to an enclosed space) and should be ventilated for a minimum of ten minutes, three times a day.

It is best if there is a toilet that can be exclusively used by the person in isolation. If it has to be shared, it must be disinfected with bleach after every use.

Wash their hands thoroughly and use a mask.

Use disposable tissues for coughing and sneezing. The person must use the tissue only once, then throw it away in a bin in their bedroom. They should then wash their hands.

Shower every day.

If someone must enter the room, ventilate it for 10 minutes beforehand. It is best to enter wearing a mask, and to maintain a safe distance of between 1.5 and 2 metres under all circumstances.

All meals must be eaten in the bedroom, and then glasses, crockery and cutlery must be washed in the dishwasher or with soap and hot water.

Bedsheets, towels and clothing used by the person in isolation should be placed in a separate bag until they can be washed. The clothes must not be shaken before washing. They can be washed with any detergent or soap, at 60°C or more. Then leave the washed clothes to dry fully.

Any rubbish generated by the person in isolation can be thrown away with other domestic waste, using a well-sealed bag. Wash your hands well after any contact with waste.

Although there isn't enough evidence that infection occurs from touching contaminated surfaces, it is important to do a good cleaning of frequently touched surfaces. Such as furniture in the room to which the person is confined. The sink and the bathroom should be cleaned with disposable materials and should be disinfected with a domestic disinfectant containing bleach, using a dilution of 1:100 (1 part bleach to 99 parts water).