Spain reduced mandatory quarantine from 10 to 7 days for positive cases of COVID-19

The Spanish government decided, on Wednesday, to reduce the quarantine period for positive cases of covid-19 to 7 days compared to the previous ten.Ministry of Health announced.

According to the Prime Minister: Pedro SanchezThis procedure aims to achieve a Balance “public health” s “Economic growth” At a time when the omicron variable raises concerns about the destabilization of the economy.

the decision It affects vaccinated people who have been diagnosed with covid-19 and who have not been vaccinated and who have been in close contact with a positive person.

On Tuesday, Spain confirmed a record number of 99,671 new infections in the last 24 hoursWhich brings the infection rate in 14 days to 1,360 cases per 100,000 people, almost double the level of the previous week.

In this context, many regional governments have requested that the quarantine be reduced to five days, although it was finally agreed to set a maximum of seven days.

Similar action has been taken by countries such as United StateAnd the United kingdom s Argentina, and many others have been studying the same thing, since then The omicron variant causes record numbers of infection but in many cases it is mild or asymptomatic forms of the disease.

WHO endorsement

In fact, own World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted today that the quarantine period It can be shortened in different cases..

“The priority is to contain transmission, but a balance must be found so that it does not particularly affect societies and economies”WHO epidemiologist Abdi Mahmoud said at a press conference.

The Director of Health Emergencies at the World Health Organization, Mike Ryan, added that COVID incubation period (from infection to the development of the first symptoms) usually ranges between Five and seven days, although some preliminary studies suggest that in the case of the omicron variant it could be lower.

“These are limited studies and could focus on certain groups such as young people, so you need to be careful about the resultsRyan said.

And he reiterated that anyway Minimizing the health impact, but also on the economy and society.

new restrictions

The omicron variant appears to cause fewer hospitalizations than delta, prevalent so far, according to the first studies, but Some experts maintain that more infection can negate the advantage of being less dangerous.

In the face of an accelerating epidemic once again, Various governments are trying to find a balance between controlling proliferation and containing economic damage.

Finland Prohibited entry for unprotected foreign travelers; SwedenAnd Denmark s Austria Require non-residents to have a negative test and vaccination, and France The validity of the “Health Passport” will be restricted to vaccinated persons.

In addition, that country announced that A ‘mandatory’ resource for remote work ‘whenever possible’Banning concerts and closing discos for an additional three weeks.

GermanyFor its part, it will apply new restrictions such as limiting meetings to ten people between vaccination and two for the unvaccinated, closing nightclubs and holding sporting events behind closed doors.

China, which suffers from a major epidemic outbreak 40 days after beijing winter gamesOn Tuesday, tens of thousands of people were counted. After the city of Xi’an (north) underwent a strict quarantine for a week, several tens of thousands of residents of the Yan’an City district, 300 kilometers from Xi’an, were confined until Tuesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 5.4 million deaths worldwide since December 2019According to a statistic by Agence France-Presse on Wednesday from official sources, the World Health Organization considers that the balance may be two and three times higher.

evenly, Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 282 million cases have been officially registered.

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