Knowing family was near helped 51-year-old in pilot home recovery

When Mr Bhuvaneshwaram Raghuram, 51, opted into a pilot scheme to recover from Covid-19 at home, the Ministry of Health (MOH) immediately went through a checklist of questions to see if his home was suitable.

Mr Raghuram was instructed to stick to one room and move his family members to other parts of the house, so that he could be isolated for the duration of his recovery.

He was then assigned a home recovery buddy from MOH who would be his point-of-contact. He was also briefed on how to access telemedicine and what to do should his condition suddenly deteriorate.

"After that, they have been regularly in touch with me almost every day," said Mr Raghuram, an IT business analyst with HMD Global who lives with his wife and two children.

MOH posted an interview with Mr Raghuram on Facebook yesterday, hours after it announced that the home recovery pilot programme will become the default care pathway for more fully vaccinated patients with mild or no symptoms from next Wednesday.

Mr Raghuram said he received a care pack which contained a box of masks, an oximeter, a thermometer, an information booklet, a bottle of sanitiser, rubbish bags, and hooks so that his family members could bring him food and other items in a contactless manner.

Three times a day, he would record his temperature and oximeter readings of his oxygen levels and blood pressure and submit them electronically by scanning a barcode.

Mr Raghuram continued to work during his home isolation, bookending his days with exercises in the morning and evening.

"At the end of the day, (there) would be a lengthy family call, talk about practically everything, trying to make it a bit light," he said.

Following his second swab test that returned a Covid-19 negative result, Mr Raghuram was contacted by MOH and told his isolation order had been lifted, and he could resume face-to-face interactions with his family.

Knowing his family was right outside his room gave him confidence during his recovery period.

He said: "I couldn't sit with them (or) eat with them, but I knew they were just like a few feet away outside my door.

"That was a confidence that I really needed... they're very supportive in terms of methodically organising food, some special herbal drinks for me. Minor joys in life that are always there."