- Before omicron, people in the UK with COVID symptoms or a positive test had to self-isolate for ten days.
- The rules are the same regardless of vaccine status.
- Many social or economic pressures could tempt the tester to compromise testing and reporting protocols.
- This is both foolhardy and dangerous for those around them.
People in the UK who had COVID symptoms or a positive test had to self-isolate for 10 days before using omicron. The authorities changed the self-isolation period to seven days when the new strain of worry came. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have changed the self-isolation duration to five days, based on what they know about the omicron variety as reported by The Conversation.
Hospitalizations
Now, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced that the self-isolation period for people who test positive for COVID is being cut to five full days in England (it is unclear, at this point, if other UK nations will do the same).
The rules are the same regardless of vaccine status.
As a medical microbiologist, I am concerned that there is little scientific evidence to justify the safety of these reduced measures.
Some argue that omicron is “mild” and is not resulting in a spike in hospitalisations, but it must be remembered that this wave is sweeping through a population with a considerable degree of protection derived from combinations of natural infection and vaccination-induced immunity.
Instead, the greater impact – certainly in the UK – appears to be absenteeism resulting in many essential services struggling to function.
Isolation period
Let us consider the scientific justification for the recommended isolation periods.
It evaluated not only the viral load determined by PCR testing, which can remain positive for some time beyond clinical recovery but also the ability to cultivate viable viruses from these people, meaning they were still clearly infectious.
The review showed a low viral load in the first couple of days, but then a peak around days three to six, tailing off at days seven to nine until no viable virus could be recovered by day ten.
In other words, the data supported a ten-day isolation period.
And a small study from the University of Exeter, published on the same day as Javid’s announcement, found that one in three people are still potentially infectious after five days.
Social and economic pressures
Lateral flow tests are a quick and practical way of gauging infectiousness, but these tests are undertaken in the home and may not always be performed to stringent criteria, meaning they might result in incorrect results.
Many social or economic pressures could tempt the tester to compromise testing and reporting protocols.
This is both foolhardy and dangerous for those around them.
People want to feel safe when they go out, knowing others are testing correctly and isolating until they are no longer a risk to others.
I strongly urge our policymakers to look at the scientific data and draw a sensible, informed, correct conclusion.
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Source: The Conversation
