May, 2020
NIJZ

The NIJZ has prepared guidance for those who have been ordered to be quarantined either because of a high-risk COVID-19 patient or on entry into Slovenia.

A quarantine is a measure restricting the freedom of movement of healthy persons, ordered by the Ministry of Health on a proposal from the National Institute of Public Health. You will receive a quarantine decision by post from the Ministry of Health. During your stay in quarantine, please observe the contents of the quarantine decision and the following instructions:

STAY AT HOME

  • Do not leave your home (do not leave your home, do not go to work, to the shops or other establishments, do not use public transport or taxis).
  • Avoid contact with others and do not receive visitors in your home.
  • During the quarantine period, distract yourself with enjoyable activities. You can pass the time by exercising, cooking, reading, studying online, watching films, etc.
  • Stay connected to other people despite the isolation, especially if you live alone. Get support from friends, family and others. Try to keep in touch with them by phone, mail or online. Let them know you want to stay connected and make it a daily routine. This is important for your mental well-being. You may benefit from sharing how you feel with them and they may benefit from it too.
  • For people living in the same household as you and who have not been quarantined, it is recommended that they follow the social distancing recommendations. Social distancing means that people living in the same household as you should follow the instructions not to socialise unnecessarily with people outside the household, to keep a distance of 1.5 m, to go to the shop as little as possible and, when there are not many people around, to try to do as much as possible online. Those who cannot work from home can go to work, but they should self-monitor as closely as possible and stop working when they become ill. People should be vigilant about hygiene. People living in the same household as you who have not been quarantined are not deprived of their freedom of movement.

MONITOR YOUR HEALTH

  • Keep track of your health using the Health Checklist.
  • If you develop signs of respiratory infection (e.g. feeling unwell, cold symptoms, cough, fever, shortness of breath) or other symptoms listed in the Health Checklist during this period, call your personal or on-call doctor for further instructions. Tell the doctor that you are in quarantine.
  • The health professionals will give you instructions on whether you need to see a doctor. You will also receive further instructions such as how to get around, how to put on a mask, when to report to the health facility, which entrance to use, etc.
  • If you need to make your own way to the health facility entry point, do not use public transport, car-sharing or taxis.

PROVISION OF BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE

  • Arrange with relatives, neighbours or friends to provide you with basic food and hygiene items and have them delivered to your home. They should not enter your home when delivering the supplies, but leave them outside your front door and inform you about this by calling or phoning. You can contact civil protection and the local community (e.g. local Red Cross branch, volunteers, etc.) to provide basic necessities.
  • We recommend using alternative shopping methods such as online sales and secure delivery, where the delivery person does not enter your home and delivers the parcel to your front door.

LIMIT CONTACT WITH THE PATIENT AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD

  • As far as possible, limit contact with the sick person(s) in your household.
  • Keep a distance of at least 1.5 metres between you and all persons in your household.
  • Keep healthy persons away from the same rooms as the sick person or sick members of the household. If possible, use your own rooms that are separate from the rooms occupied by the sick person or sick members of the household. Sleep in a separate room if possible.
  • Healthy persons should use a separate bathroom from the patient or sick members of the household. If you do not have this option, let the healthy persons use the shower/bathing room first and the sick person(s) last. If more than one member of the household uses the same bathroom, use the bathrooms individually. After using the bathroom, each person should clean the surfaces with the cleaning products you have at home.
  • When using the kitchen, healthy persons should avoid contact with the sick person or sick household members and should not be there at the same time as them. Eat meals separately, with the healthy household member first and the sick household member second, entering the kitchen only after the other household members have eaten their meal. Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food and before eating. It is important to clean up after yourself every time, both the surfaces you have touched and the utensils and crockery you have used. Use your own cutlery and store your kitchen cloth separately.
  • Ventilate the rooms you are in regularly. Ventilate the room for five to ten minutes several times a day.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

  • Social isolation, unpredictability and changes in routine can contribute to increased stress. Many people (even those who do not usually have mental health problems) may feel anxious in such situations. Understandably, taking such measures can be boring or frustrating. You may feel unwell, have trouble sleeping, miss company. You can help yourself in a simple way:
  • Look online for ideas for movement exercises you can do at home.
  • Do things you enjoy: e.g. reading, cooking, listening to the radio, watching TV.
  • Try to eat a healthy balanced diet, drink enough water, avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs.
  • Keeping up with the news can make you more anxious. So try to limit the time you spend following media coverage of the epidemic. Check the news only at certain times or a few times a day.
  • Try to focus on things you can control, e.g. your behaviour, who you talk to, who you get information from.

HOW TO DEAL WITH PETS

  • Pets in the home environment should be cared for by healthy members of the household if possible. Wash your hands before and after handling the animal. Arrange for people outside your household (e.g. relatives, neighbours, friends) to walk your dog and to wash their hands before and after interacting with the animal.
  • There is no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via pets at this time.

OBSERVE HAND HYGIENE

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use a dedicated hand sanitiser to disinfect your hands.
  • Do not touch your face with unclean/dirty hands.

DO NOT SHARE YOUR PERSONAL AND HYGIENE ITEMS WITH OTHERS.

  • Use your own cutlery, hygiene items, linen and towels and do not share them with others.
  • After using personal and hygiene items, clean them and store them separately from other items.

CLEANING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

  • Use water and normal cleaning agents to clean surfaces.
  • Clean surfaces that are frequently touched (e.g. doorknobs, tables, kitchen counter, bedside tables, toilet bowl, sink taps, telephones, keyboards, etc.).
  • Personal waste (e.g. used tissues) and cleaning waste (e.g. disposable cloths) should be placed in a plastic waste bag and tied tightly when full. Do not crush the contents of the bags and do not touch the waste after it has been placed in the bag. Place the bag in another plastic waste bag and tie it tightly. The bag must be placed separately from the other waste (e.g. in the entrance hall, on the balcony, on the terrace). It must be stored in a safe place, protected from children and animals. Keep this bag separate for at least 72 hours before disposing of it in an outside container for mixed municipal waste (residual waste).
  • Dispose of other household waste as normal.
  • Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after each waste handling and/or cleaning operation.

WHEN DOES THE QUARANTINE END?

  • Quarantine lasts for 14 days from the last high-risk close contact with a COVID-19 patient or 14 days from arrival in Slovenia (for persons ordered to be quarantined on entry into Slovenia).
  • Even after quarantine has ended, continue to practice good cough hygiene and continue to wash your hands frequently.
  • Monitor the situation in Slovenia and follow the measures and instructions of the experts (competent institutions).

Source – NIJZ

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EU Funds

The project is partly funded by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and the European Union through the European Social Fund. The operation is financed under the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, Priority Axis 9 “Social inclusion and reducing the risk of poverty”, Priority Investment 9.1 “Active inclusion, including the promotion of equal opportunities and active participation, and improving employability”, Specific Objective 9.1.2 “Empowering target groups to move towards the labour market”.