The World Health Organization (WHO), which recommended a 14-day quarantine for contacts with COVID-19 patients in places with a high incidence of the pandemic. He reduced this time to seven days today, in the context of the current wave linked to the Omicron variant, with a high number of mild cases.
The WHO published interim guidance
The World Health Organization (WHO) published interim guidance on contact tracing and quarantine in areas with extremely high levels of circulation of the omicron variant of Covid-19.
In places where there is an increase in cases and health services are under pressure. The WHO acknowledged that “quarantine and contact tracing policies may need to be adjusted.”
Thus, he considered that the quarantine can be shortened: for example, to 10 days without a diagnostic test, and to 7 days with a negative test, provided that the person does not develop any symptoms. This contrasts with the current WHO recommendation of 14 days of quarantine for all contacts.
“When testing to shorten quarantine is not possible, the absence of symptom development after a certain number of days can be used as a surrogate. For example, quarantine could end after 10 days without testing if the contact is asymptomatic. The risk of transmission after quarantine for 10 days of quarantine (based on data prior to ómicron). It is estimated at around 1%, with an upper limit of approximately 10%”, explains the WHO.
The quarantine period is shortened but the hygiene recommendations continue
If the quarantine period is shortened, the WHO recommended that people continue to wear a “well-fitting” mask at all times. During all indoor and outdoor activities where there may be interaction with other people. Along with other infection prevention and control measures, such as physical distancing, proper ventilation of indoor spaces. And hand hygiene, for the rest of the 14 days.
In any case, the international health organization of the United Nations warned that “any modification of contact tracing and quarantine policies will increase the risk of further transmission and must be weighed against the capacity of health care, the immunity of the population and the considerations socioeconomic”.
The CDC had already done it
As early as December, US health officials had cut isolation restrictions for Americans who contract the coronavirus from 10 days to five, and similarly reduced the time close contacts need to quarantine.
21% of the new cases of COVID-19 analyzed in the laboratory belong to the BA.2 sublineage of the Ómicron variant. Which has generated concern for its even greater transmissibility and for not being detected by some tests. Although the World Health Organization does not consider it to be of special risk.
According to the organization’s weekly epidemiological report, the BA.2 sublineage is steadily increasing and is even dominant in countries. What; China, India, Denmark, Pakistan or the Philippines, according to data from the global network of GISAID laboratories, which works together with the WHO.
The BA.2 subvariant is on average 84% more transmissible than BA.1 (another omicron sublineage), according to WHO estimates.
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