WHO describes COVID-19 quarantine reduction as 'trade-off' amid growing Omicron scare

The reduction of obligatory isolation period by many countries amid the rising cases of Omicron has met with criticism by the World Health Organization (WHO), which stated that reducing the isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 was a trade-off between preventing transmission and keeping economies running. Recently, WHO stated that COVID-19 cases have increased by 11% worldwide last week.

The United States health officials announced on Monday that they would reduce the recommended isolation time for persons with asymptomatic infections from 10 to five days. According to Anadolu Agency, similarly, Spain stated that will reduce the quarantine time for positive cases from 10 to seven days. The Omicron cases are on the rise in Europe and the United States.

Governments are making great efforts to find balance

WHO's Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said at a press conference that if individuals shorten the quarantine time, there will be a small number of patients that develop disease and potentially go on to transmit the disease because they were let out of quarantine sooner. He claimed that it is a trade-off between science and an attempt to have the least amount of damage to the economy and society possible and governments are making great efforts to find that balance.

Ryan said that there are some data that show that the incubation period for Omicron is shorter. He also said that the risk of someone having symptoms of COVID-19 after five, six, or seven days of isolation decreases rapidly. He also stated that it is up to governments to make the decision on when to release people from isolation. The WHO recommends quarantine for symptomatic patients for 10 days following the start of the symptoms, plus at least three more days without symptoms.

Omicron is still relatively significant

The WHO also said that the overall risk linked with the new variation Omicron is still relatively significant, according to AP. It also noted that there is consistent evidence that it has a growth advantage over the delta variant and it believes that more research is needed to understand clinical markers of Omicron's severity, such as the requirement for oxygen, mechanical ventilation and mortality.

Image: AP