NPR

Caring For A Coronavirus Patient At Home: What You Should Know

Here's how to care for a coronavirus patient at home while safeguarding the health of other family members.
A woman talks to her 80-year-old mother, who is in bed with potential symptoms of COVID-19.(Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images)

Hospitals in coronavirus hotspots across the U.S. are becoming overloaded with patients. Many people with less critical symptoms are being advised to recover at home.

If a loved one in your home tests positive for COVID-19 or exhibits symptoms similar to the virus, Dr. Joseph Khabbaza says the most important thing you can do, if able, is to provide an isolated bedroom and bathroom for the infected person.

“Now, that’s not always possible in every living arrangement, but isolation is the key when you have an infected person in the household,” the pulmonary and critical care physician at the Cleveland Clinic says.

Taking care of a coronavirus patient at home comes with another challenge: safeguarding the health of other family members.

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