Sanitary and Hygienic Aspects of the COVID-19 Self-isolation

Abstract

Introduction: Self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic is a temporary measure to limit the spread of infection. All citizens arriving from abroad to Russia must comply with the rules of self-isolation. Since April 2, 2020, almost all citizens of the Russian Federation have followed the rules of self-isolation. Also, this month in the Russian capital, Moscow, about 6 million citizens have isolated themselves. In general, in the territory of Russia, the number of citizens on self-isolation reached 100 million. Billions of citizens around the world are staying at home due to the self-isolation regime, so a sanitary assessment must be considered. Self-isolation, characterized by physical inactivity, hypoxia, diet disturbances, lifestyle changes during work / rest, mental stress; this provides an opportunity to identify the presence of public health risk factors and contributes to an increase in the incidence of No Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Purpose of the Study: Carrying out a sanitary-hygienic assessment of COVID-19 self-isolation, determining priority risk factors causing non-infectious diseases, and proposing preventive measures. Objectives: To Identify public health risk factors during self-isolation. To conduct a comprehensive hygienic assessment of self-isolation according to the priority criteria. To develop a pointing system (hygiene index for self-isolation). To propose measures to minimize health risks during self-isolation. Materials and Methods: We used analytical, and systematization approaches. Information from the legal documents of the hygienic-sanitary laws of the Government of the Russian Federation (nutrition hygiene, hygiene of workforce, children, and teenagers). World Health Organization COVID-19 documents. Research Results: We assessed the sanitary-hygienic aspects of self-isolation to identify the leading risk factors on public health, and as a result, we proposed hygienic criteria for self-isolation. We developed a hygienic self-isolation index point score (HSIPS) that considers the Russian law-based requirements for diet, work, rest, and physical activities. Thus, the usage of those hygienic standards is beneficial to prevent public health risks in ordinary and extremely challenging conditions of self-isolation. We proposed measures to minimize risks during self-isolation, and we based them on adequate sanitary-hygienic standards. The main sanitary-hygienic risk factors of self-isolation are: sedentary lifestyle, hypoxia, nutritional deficiencies (malnutrition), and work/rest imbalance. Conclusion: We proposed a sanitary-hygienic definition of self-isolation. We identified leading risk factors for public health of the self-isolated population. We proposed sanitary-hygienic criteria for assessing self-isolation based on the regulations and standards of the Government of the Russian Federation. We developed a hygienic self-isolation index point score (HSIPS), which determines that the optimal mode is directly proportional to the coefficients of a person’s physical activity (D), indoor area (air cubic capacity) per isolated (S), time spent in fresh air (T) and inversely proportional to the calorie intake. We proposed measures to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCD) for citizens on self-isolation.