A letter was sent to professionals and health establishments.
the Omicron variant gain territory.
Detected in Belgium, in Germany, in Italy, in Great Britain, Netherlands but also in Czech Republic, new South African variant so dreaded by scientists has given rise to a wave of panic in Europe as many countries have announced new restrictive measures to deal with the 5e wave.
If it has not yet been spotted in France, the health authorities nevertheless believe that the Omicron variant has already entered the territory. The resumption of a massive sequencing will make it possible to get a more precise idea. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health prefer to play it safe.
In a letter sent to establishments as well as to health professionals, the ministry thus dictated new instructions.
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Classified “of concern” by the WHO, the South African variant was named “Omicron”
Contact cases in isolation
The first, and not the least, compulsory isolation of all the contact cases, vaccinated or not : “Any contact person at risk of a possible case or a confirmed case of variant B1.1.529, regardless of vaccination status, should be considered ‘high risk contact’ and therefore should be placed in quarantine “.
Since June 15, in fact, people who have a complete vaccination schedule are no longer considered to be high-risk contact and, in fact, are no longer forced to isolate themselves if they are in contact. even if certain rules are to be respected. Quite the opposite of unvaccinated contact cases, who received only one dose or immunocompromised, forced to isolate themselves.
Likewise, caregivers were encouraged to offer a PCR test rather than a antigen test to people who have stayed in a southern African country called “at risk” in the last 14 days (South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, or Zimbabwe), or having been in contact with a person in this case.