Covid-19: Definition of close contact under review

Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre announced Wednesday that the definition of when a person is in direct or close contact with a person detected positive for Covid-19 is being reviewed again.

“As a country, in the situation, we are in,  we considered lowering the isolation period from 14 days to 10 days and we have lowered the quarantine period from 14 days to five or six days, provided that a test is carried out and came back negative, “he explained.

The minister said that in the latter case the person must immediately return to work.

These types of questions were asked on Tuesday when Sucre met with delegates from the Chamber of Commerce, the National Council of Private Enterprise, and other ministers, to analyze the impact of the fourth wave of Covid-19 in the country.

At the meeting, Sucre was asked if the days of isolation and quarantine could be lowered to seven. The minister indicated that based on the discussion with scientists, epidemiology teams, and public health “at this time the best thing for the country is to stay for 10 days and five days.”

He added that this may change over time, however, it will remain that way today.

The decision to reduce the isolation and quarantine time was announced by the Health authorities on December 28, eight days after the first case the Omicron variant was reported to the country.

Sucre described as positive the meeting held with the businessmen and various ministers of State. He said that he was consulted about the possibility of applying drastic measures in the face of the increase in cases of Covid-19, a possibility that “for now” was rejected.