This decision could have a worldwide signal effect: The US health authority (CDC) has halved the quarantine for infected people who do not show any symptoms from ten to five days. In addition, those affected are encouraged to wear a mask for at least five days if they are near other people.
“In light of the current knowledge about Covid-19 and the Omikron variant, the CDC is reducing the recommended isolation time for people with Covid-19 from ten days to five days if they are asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when in are close to others, ”said a CDC statement on Monday. The CDC guidelines are not regulations, but recommendations for employers and state and local authorities. The CDC defines isolation as the time after a confirmed infection.
The decision is based on scientific evidence: “The change is based on scientific findings that show that most Sars-CoV-2 transmissions take place early in the course of the disease, usually in the first two days before the onset of symptoms and on the second and third day after. Therefore, people who test positive should be isolated for five days. “
Concern for economy
The decision is probably also based on economic considerations. The highly contagious Omikron virus variant threatens to lead to major failures in the critical infrastructure. The St. Gallen infectiologist Pietro Vernazza recently warned that the ten-day quarantine requirement in Switzerland threatens the entire world of work. The top US health officials now seem to be responding to such fears, also voiced by economists.
As CNN reports, the increasing Omikron numbers are already leading to massive travel cancellations worldwide. On Monday alone, 2800 flights worldwide apparently had to be canceled because staff and crews reported sick.
Unsuccessful with the federal government
As early as May 2020, the retired infectious disease specialist Vernazza, as the head physician at the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital at the time, pointed out that a person with symptoms usually no longer poses a risk of infection. They tried, Vernazza recalls, “but unsuccessfully”.
His concern with Omikron is all the more topical today. The doctor sees a long quarantine for those without symptoms as a threat to the economy, which brings little health benefit: “If the BAG now adheres to the ten-day isolation requirement for vaccinated and convalescent people, even if the symptoms subside after a day, which is not unusual then our economy could suffer more from the Omikron wave than our hospitals. ” (kes)