Managing COVID-19 At Home For Our Patients

For the vast majority of you, especially those who have had their vaccinations COVID will be a minor illness similar to the cold or flu.

It is important to have a plan so you are ready in case you need to self-isolate.

If you test positive for COVID-19, Public Health South may contact you before we do. Once we know, we can arrange a telephone consultation with your GP for you to ascertain the severity of your symptoms. Call us on 477 7583 to arrange the appointment. Regular consultation fees will apply.

You will need to isolate at home and monitor your symptoms. If you have any concerns about a change in your symptoms contact us Monday – Friday between 8am and 5.30pm or if after hours:

Visit our trusted New Zealand Healthify service for advice: Healthify New Zealand

Or call Healthline: 0800 611 116

After the recommended 5 days of isolation, if you have recovered you will be able to leave your home and return to your normal activities.

What does isolate at home mean for you?

• Separate yourself from other people in your home.
• As much as possible, you should stay in a room by yourself. It should be well ventilated (e.g., open windows), but you should keep the door closed.
• Keep your distance from other people in your home. This means eating meals in your room by yourself, limiting your movements in shared spaces and using a separate bathroom if possible.
• If you can, try to have one person who is in good health looking after you. You should NOT have any visitors. Your Household Contacts do not need to isolate. They should test daily for 5 days and wear a face mask if they leave your home during the 5 days of testing. If they test positive, they need to begin 7 days of isolation as someone with COVID-19.
• A Household Contact is someone who normally lives in a house or flat on a permanent or part-time basis (for example, shared custody) with a person who has tested positive, and has spent at least 1 night or day (more than 8 hours) in that residence while the person was infectious.
  You are also a Household Contact if you do not normally share a residence with the person who has COVID-19, but spent a night together in the same room.
• STAY HOME. You should only leave your home to get a COVID test. Do not go to work, school, or public areas. Do not use public transportation, ride-sharing services, or taxi. You will need food to be delivered and all your needs met so that you can stay at home.

Medical Care

• DO NOT COME TO THE MEDICAL CENTRE, we will provide care to you as indicated above. If you need a consultation about something other than COVID please book a virtual consultation with your doctor, either by phone or video link.
  Continue with your normal medications unless told otherwise. DO NOT go to a pharmacy – ask them to deliver medications or get someone outside of your home to drop them at your door.
• Healthify has a range of New Zealand-based advice for people who have COVID-19 and are isolating in their homes with the help of their general practice.
  You can access information on the Healthify website without using mobile data if you use the Spark, Skinny, Vodafone or 2degrees mobile networks. This is part of the Ministry of Health’s work to improve equity of access to health information. Learn more on: Healthify No Data