Spain To Drop Covid-19 Self-Isolation For Asymptomatic And Mild Cases
Health News
Published: 23 March 2022 12:17 CET
Spain’s Public Health Commission announced on Tuesday that they will be dropping the requirement to self-isolate for those who have COVID-19 and are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
Under current regulations, seven days of isolation are mandatory for anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus.
Under the new guidelines, from March 28, people will no longer be required to quarantine at home for seven days.
Instead, the aim will be to monitor only the more severe cases in those considered to be more vulnerable to infection to ascertain the epidemiological situation throughout the country.
Anyone who has been in contact with someone that has been infected will also not be required to go into quarantine.
However, the Ministry continues to recommend that anyone who does have mild symptoms should wear a mask both indoors and outdoors and avoid coming into contact with people who may be vulnerable for at least one week.
Quarantine will remain mandatory for more serious cases and categorised as being within the high-risk and vulnerable groups. This includes the over 60s, the immunosuppressed and pregnant women.
For those in nursing homes and hospitals, a five-day quarantine will remain mandatory regardless of the person's symptoms. Isolation may only end if the person has not experienced any symptoms in 24 hours.
The Ministry said that from March 28, COVID-19 testing will only be carried out on high-risk groups at health facilities and nursing homes with the focus on patients with the worst conditions.
Via their website the announcement said, “The CSP concludes that the changes they have agreed to are based on the fact that the high levels of immunity reached in the Spanish population have determined a change in the epidemiology of COVID-19 that supports the transition towards a different strategy that monitors and directs the actions to people and areas of greater vulnerability and monitor severe cases of COVID-19 and in vulnerable areas and people.
“In relation to the control of COVID-19 in the general population, mild and asymptomatic confirmed cases will not go into isolation and close contacts will not go into quarantine. In this sense, recommendations will be issued aimed at preventive measures such as the use of a mask in all areas and avoiding contact with vulnerable people,” the statement continued.
The measures will remain in place as long as there is no significant change to the country’s epidemiological situation that could see further pressure placed on the country’s hospitals.
If this was the case and the situation was deemed to be ‘high-risk’, the reestablishing of further surveillance and restrictions may be required.
Source
https://www.sanidad.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=5691
https://www.thelocal.es/20220323/covid-19-spain-scraps-self-isolation-for-asymptomatic-and-mild-cases/
Image Credit: La Moncloa
