Status: 04.01.2022 5:17 p.m.
A shortening of the quarantine times is the topic of the federal government’s expert committee today, on Friday the federal and state governments should decide on it. What are the arguments for – what against. An overview.
What is it about?
With the significant increase in Omicron cases, more and more people have to be in quarantine. Experts fear that this will lead to massive staff losses in the area of critical infrastructure. This could have consequences for the population, particularly in the case of hospitals, the police, fire brigades, rescue services, telecommunications and electricity and water supplies.
Shorter quarantine and isolation times are therefore under discussion – especially for employees in important supply areas.
Other states have already reacted. In England, for example, insulation has been shortened for those who tested positive from ten to seven days since the end of December. Anyone who receives a negative result in an antigen self-test on the sixth and seventh day after a positive PCR test can end the isolation.
In the United States, the quarantine was shortened in December. Five days of quarantine and another five days of consistent mask wear applies there to people who have tested positive for the coronavirus but have not developed any symptoms of the disease.
What are the current rules in Germany?
If there is close contact with a person who has tested positive for Corona, a ten-day quarantine at home applies – according to the RKI recommendation. This can be shortened to seven days with a negative rapid antigen test and to five days with a negative PCR test. The decision about the quarantine lies with the responsible health department.
It is different with so-called isolation. Those who are infected should – according to the recommendation – isolate themselves 14 days after the onset of symptoms. In the case of fully vaccinated people, it should be five days if they are then symptom-free and negative with PCR. The health department also makes a decision here. For Omikron cases, however, the specifications are sometimes stricter and free testing is usually not possible.
Experts are now also arguing with a possibly shorter infectious period with Omikron. However, there are still no reliable findings on this. “A shorter infectious period should be the rule because many already have basic immunity – either through a vaccination or after surviving an infection,” said Wolfgang Preiser, professor of virology at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town tagesschau.de.
Who is asking what?
Several scientists advocate shortening the quarantine or isolation. But only after a negative test. The immunologist Carsten Watzl spoke of five to seven days when it came to the critical infrastructure. After all, people with full vaccination protection who became infected could fight the virus faster and earlier thanks to the immune reaction, he said.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection also requires close-meshed corona laboratory tests as a condition. Daily PCR tests would have to be arranged for hospitals, nursing homes and employees in outpatient care, said board member Eugen Brysch.
The President of the Association of Leading Hospital Doctors (VLK), Michael Weber, also called for a shortening for people who work in important care areas. “The people will soon be urgently needed,” said Weber of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
And in the past few days there had also been warnings of a lack of personnel in the economy. “If the expected Omikron wave spills over to Germany, this will quickly become a challenge for the economy in its entirety due to the widespread absence of many employees,” said DIHK President Peter Adrian.
The Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) called for quick changes to quarantine rules. For asymptomatic infected people and contact persons, a shortened quarantine must be possible if the operation of the infrastructure would be jeopardized.
The Berlin virologist Christian Drosten last said on Deutschlandfunk that he assumed that there could be shortenings in the quarantine regulation in the future, even if “a few cases” could then be overlooked. In addition, after the self-isolation period, people infected with free testing could definitely be viewed as non-infectious again after fewer days than before.
What are the risks?
The Frankfurt virologist Martin Stürmer has tagesschau.de also advised of the dangers before the turn of the year. “This is a double-edged sword: If you shorten the quarantine, you can be more productive. But you also risk infections that could be prevented through longer isolation. You have to weigh this risk carefully.”
The health expert for the Greens, Janosch Dahmen, was just as cautious. “I am very cautious when it comes to shortening the quarantine,” says Dahmen im ARD morning magazine. It is okay for vaccinated people who became infected but did not show any symptoms to end the quarantine on the fifth day with a negative PCR test. This also applies to very specialized employees with little contact. “But to exclude the nurse who takes care of heart attacks or strokes from the quarantine rules, who then may infect other patients, opens too many doors for Omikron.”
What’s next
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced at the weekend that there could be resolutions on quarantine periods at the federal-state meeting on Friday. Today the expert committee advises the federal government. However, it is unclear whether there will be an opinion.