Anyone infected with Omikron in Germany has to be in quarantine for 14 days. The same applies to contact persons: two weeks of isolation without the possibility of free testing.
The USA is now going a different way!
The local health authority Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its recommendation on Monday (December 27th) for people who tested positive but are symptom-free: instead of the previous ten days of isolation, five days would be sufficient.
“If they are at this point (after five days, editor’s note) If they are asymptomatic, they can leave isolation if they continue to wear the mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others, ”the CDC said.
The reason is scientific evidence that most infections take place early in the course of the disease – usually in the one to two days before the onset of symptoms and in the two to three days afterwards, said the CDC.
So far, the CDC had recommended isolation for ten days. The authorities understand isolation as the time after a confirmed infection.
The shortening is now recommended when those affected no longer have symptoms and wear a mask for another five days when they are near others.
“The Omikron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to affect all facets of our society,” said CDC boss Rochelle Walensky. The new recommendations were intended to ensure that people could safely get on with their daily lives.
In South Africa, the quarantine period has almost been lifted.
What happens to contact persons?
The CDC is also adjusting the guidelines for quarantine. They apply to people who have had contact with an infected person. For people who are not or not fully vaccinated against Corona, a quarantine of five instead of ten days may also be recommended.
In order to be able to bypass the quarantine completely, it now also plays a role whether those affected have received a booster vaccination.
The CDC guidelines are not regulations, but recommendations for employers and state and local authorities.
Initial considerations also in Germany
Bavaria’s Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek has spoken out in favor of considering shortening the corona quarantine period.
You have to look closely, also with reference to the critical infrastructure, said the CSU politician on ZDF. “It’s important that we check the quarantine.”
He expects the Robert Koch Institute to submit proposals on this very soon.
The vice-chairman of the Union parliamentary group, Sepp Müller (CDU), had already discussed a shortened free test option after five days in order to prevent a mass quarantine in view of the highly contagious virus variant.
“In the worst case, the extrapolations assume 700,000 new infections per day for the Omikron variant. In this case, there would actually be mass quarantine, ”said Müller to WELT.
“We need free testing facilities, especially for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, after five days. Boosted people who show no symptoms shouldn’t have to go into quarantine for a week of daily rapid tests. “
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