Everything you need to know about the new isolation rules

The mandatory Kovid-19 quarantine was reduced to 7 to 10 days from yesterday. More precisely, the extension of this period applies to any person who tests positive for any variant of the virus. So far, carriers of the coronavirus have had to remain alone for seven days, but contaminants associated with the British and South African variants have pushed authorities to extend these deadlines. On February 19, the Directorate General of Health published a new isolation protocol.

Why this change?

This applies more carefully to the government’s “testing, warning, segregation” strategy. “Some scientific studies suggest that variants may cause more infection than the classic Kovid-19 that has aired in the country so far,” Health Minister Oliver Warren told a news conference last Thursday. As a reminder, at the onset of the epidemic, mandatory loneliness extended from 14 days to 10 days.

Does this new deadline apply to consultation cases?

No, but the rules are changing a little. If you are contacted, you should be tested as soon as possible. If the test is positive, you should isolate yourself for only seven days rather than ten. Nothing new here. If your test is negative seven days after the last dangerous contact, you may be able to be alone but only under certain circumstances.

Does having a family consultation case change the game?

Yes. If the contact case is not in your family, you can effectively stop isolating yourself for seven days and after a negative test. On the other hand, if the contact case is in your family (and therefore more dangerous due to the proximity), you will need to isolate yourself for seven extra days (i.e. a total of 14 days) and test a second time. Specially for children aged 6 to 11 years: If they refuse to be tested and have a contact case in their family, their quarantine lasts 24 days.