What Employees Must Do During COVID Home Quarantine

What should you do if you're tested positive for COVID-19? And what do you need to do when self-isolating at home? 

The health director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah recently addressed the latest home quarantine rules for those who are self-isolating at home.

If a person is confirmed as COVID-19 positive and told to home quarantine cannot leave their residence and must be contactable at any time. Dr Noor Hisham stated that someone who has been in close contact with a COVID-positive person would need to self-isolate and quarantine themselves. 

Based on a statement yesterday, he stated that symptomatic persons are prioritised for the swab test. The Health Ministry would not be able to conduct tests on everyone in a state with many COVID-19 cases.

Current COVID-19 situation in Malaysia. Infographic by Malay Mail 

Dr Noor Hisham said a medical health professional from the COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) would conduct early evaluations and they can now handle positive cases at home. 

He also said that if one is to stay at home, they must not be infectious or possess only mild symptoms. They would need a suitable carer, and their home must be up to the standards prepared for isolation. 

Those from high-risk groups such as those with chronic diseases and the elderly cannot stay home. The Health Ministry also reminded eligible persons to stay home at all times and ensure that they are reachable.

Dr Noor Hisham also highlighted some criteria that a COVID-positive person must follow when quarantining at home: 

1. They must live alone in a separate room, preferably with an attached bathroom. 

2. If there is no choice but to share, all touched surfaces must be sterilised and cleaned. 

3. They must avoid face-to-face communications with others in the household. If one cannot avoid it, then everyone must wear a mask.

4. The quarantined person must report their status every day through the MySejahtera application or the medical officer in charge.

5. If they feel their symptoms are getting worse, they must inform the CAC, the nearest clinic or call 999.

6. The person must always wash their hands and practice proper coughing etiquette using a tissue to cover their mouth and nose. 

7. One must wash all food utensils to be reused, ensure proper ventilation by opening the window. 

8. One must not receive any visitors.

The director-general stated the same rules also apply to those who have close contact with a positive case. They must self-isolate and quarantine themselves as advised. He said that all of the efforts are channelled towards separating the exposed persons from the population, and ten days are found to be enough to decrease the infection rate. 

Guidelines by the Ministry of Human Resources

In February 2020, the Human Resources Ministry issued a guideline titled "Panduan Mengendalikan Isu-Isu Berhubung Wabak Berjangkit Termasuk Novel Coronavirus Di Tempat Kerja (Guidelines on Handling Issues Relating to Contagious Outbreaks Including Novel Coronavirus)."

The guideline does not prescribe any statutory obligations for employers, though they are encouraged to adhere to the same by the government. Here are the details:

1. The guideline stated that if an employee is declared unfit to work by a medical practitioner, the employer should grant paid sick or hospitalisation leave. This statement is defined in the respective Employment Contract or by the Employment Act 1955. 

2. Employers should provide full pay to employees who are ordered to quarantine by a registered medical practitioner.

3. Employers should not instruct employees to use annual leave entitlement or take unpaid leave during the quarantine period if a quarantine order is given. 

4. From the legal standpoint, an employer must remember that they may not unilaterally place an employee on unpaid leave only based on the assumption that the employee is presumed to contract COVID-19. The leave should be treated as paid medical leave. 

5. Employers should not stop employees from attending work if no quarantine orders have been issued. But they may order an unwell employee to not come to work by granting paid sick leave to the employee. 

6. Employers should encourage working from home. Employees working from home should not have their annual leave entitlement or salary deducted.

 For more information, you can read the document in Bahasa Melayu here

Sources: Malay Mail & JTKSM

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