The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced that the isolation or “quarantine period” for certain COVID-19 patients and close contact cases has been reduced to 10 days from the initial 14-day period.
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This applies to individuals who have come in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case but did not develop any symptoms.
Dubai Orders Mandatory 10-Day Quarantine for Residents who had Recent Contact with Confirmed COVID-19
The health authority explained that the shortened isolation period is applicable to COVID-19 patients who have been asymptomatic since testing positive. The reduced isolation period also applies to patients with mild cases of COVID-19 who have fully recovered from their symptoms – without the use of fever-reducing medications.
Meanwhile, those who have been hospitalized due to developing moderate, severe or critical COVID-19 symptoms, can only be discharged when they have tested negative in a PCR test two consecutive times that are 24 hours (or more) apart.
The #Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced that the isolation period for certain COVID-19 patients and close contact cases has been reduced to 10 days from the initial 14-day period. https://t.co/oldZ4Ae7ea pic.twitter.com/bjueoEbrw9
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 5, 2021
In such cases, the patient in question should be without fever for more than three days without the use of fever-reducing medications. Also, the patient should also have improved minimal respiratory symptoms and their pulmonary imaging must show marked improvements.
According to DHA, this category of patients must self-isolate for at least seven days after they have been discharged. They added that if symptoms reappear within the two-week period after discharge, a mandatory health check must be observed.
The health authority explained that shortening the isolation period is based on global research on COVID-19, which found that the majority of contact cases get infected within the first 10 days from the date of exposure.
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