More than half a million people in our country have already tested positive for the corona virus. “The decline has started, but numbers have yet to drop significantly,” said virologist Steven Van Gucht during the crisis centre’s press conference. Important tools for avoiding a third wave are quarantine and isolation. But what are the rules for this?
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“Quarantine and isolation are crucial to get the epidemic under control,” said Van Gucht. ‘That’s why I explain again what the difference is and what it means exactly.’
Quarantine
Someone who is not ill, but has had a high-risk contact with someone who is infected with the corona virus, must be quarantined. That person must isolate himself preventively from his fellow man for ten days. You start counting from the last contact with the infected person.
There is one high-risk contact when people have been less than five feet apart for more than 15 minutes and not wearing a mouth mask. Those 15 minutes do not have to be consecutive, it can also be three times five minutes spread over a full day. When both people did wear a mouth mask correctly, there is a low risk contact.
Quarantine lasts ten days, because most people who are infected get sick within ten days. However, it can take up to 14 days for someone to become ill after being infected, but most people develop symptoms 5 to 6 days after exposure. It is recommended to exercise extra caution in the four days after the ten-day quarantine.
Most people are not sure who infected them, because the virus is shed during the first 24 to 48 hours. That is usually before the first symptoms appear. Doing a test immediately after a high-risk contact makes little sense, because there is still too little virus in the nose to be able to detect it. It is therefore important to go into quarantine before the first symptoms appear, to break the infection chain. “Quarantine is essential to combat the epidemic,” said Van Gucht.
Those who have undertaken a trip abroad must in some cases be quarantined. ‘Anyone who returns from a red zone or has undertaken a risky activity can be prompted to go into quarantine.’
What about roommates and family members?
Only the person who had a high-risk contact should be quarantined. In that case, the isolation does not apply to housemates and family members. If any of your housemates are themselves sick, they should all other housemates are in quarantine.
What does quarantine look like?
Those who go into quarantine should stay at home as much as possible. Only essentials, such as a visit to the doctor, pharmacist or food shop, are allowed. The mouth mask is recommended, even in contact with roommates. Visiting or receiving visitors is not allowed. Body temperature should be measured twice a day, the house should be well ventilated and everything you touch daily, such as door handles, switches and toilet seats, should be well cleaned. Also try to use as many other items as possible, such as towels, sheets and dishes.
‘Try to eat at a different time than your housemates, and use a different bathroom and toilet as much as possible,’ Van Gucht recommended.
Insulation
Patients infected with corona, whether they have symptoms or not, should seven days go into isolation. This period can be extended if the symptoms have not yet been sufficiently reduced.
The seven days start counting from the first day that symptoms are noticeable, or if there are no symptoms, from the day of the positive test. You may leave the house after seven days, provided the fever has gone for at least three days and there is an improvement in respiratory symptoms. If not, the insulation must be extended.
Quarantine rules also apply to isolation, but more strictly. ‘Don’t come out, let someone else do your shopping, unless you really can’t. If you have to go to the doctor, let us know in advance that you are infected, ‘said Van Gucht.
What about roommates and family members?
Avoid contact with roommates as much as possible and ventilate the house. Also wear a mouth mask when you come into contact with roommates and family members. ‘Those who live with vulnerable people should let them stay somewhere else for a week,’ said Van Gucht.
Attention, if a person goes into isolation, the housemates must all be quarantined. All contact should be avoided as much as possible. Because complete isolation of people under the same roof is often not possible, the housemates not only have to go through the period of isolation in quarantine, but also the normal quarantine period afterwards.
Since housemates can be infected up to the seventh day of the isolation, ten more days must be added from that day. Housemates must therefore remain in quarantine for a total of seventeen days. ‘That requires a great deal of effort, but in this way everyone can contribute to beat the virus’, Van Gucht concludes.
Numbers
The number of new infections and hospital admissions continues to decline slightly. Intensive care admissions are increasing slightly, but those figures will stabilize soon. The number of deaths also continues to increase, but there is a clear delay. “But that is usually the last indicator to reverse,” said Van Gucht. “The peak of the number of hospital admissions for the second wave was on Tuesday, November 3, that of the number of new infections exactly a week earlier, on October 27.”
View the latest corona figures here.
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