Brazil reduces isolation period for patients with COVID-19

BRASILIA. KAZINFORM - The Brazilian Ministry of Health has decided to reduce the recommended period of isolation for patients with COVID-19 from ten to seven days. In case there are no more symptoms of the disease, the patient is dismissed. Minister Marcelo Queiroga announced the government's new recommendation this Monday (Dec. 10), Agencia Brasil reports.

Those who still have symptoms, after a 7-day isolation period, should do the COVID-19 test. If the result is negative, before leaving isolation, the patient must wait 24 hours without having neither respiratory symptoms nor fever, and without the use of antipyretic drugs. If positive, one should maintain a total isolation period of ten days, since the beginning of the symptoms.

There is also the possibility of making the isolation period even shorter if, on the fifth day, the patient no longer has any respiratory symptoms, does not have a fever, has not been using antipyretic medication for 24 hours and tests negative. If, however, the test is positive, the patient must wait the total period of ten days.

According to Queiroga, vaccination in Brazil is progressing so much that the Brazilian government has reduced the period of isolation. «Since Brazil has advanced a lot in the vaccination campaign, in relation to the number of booster doses, a large part of the population in big cities has been vaccinated, so we can envision a scenario here in Brazil that is more similar to what happens in countries like the United Kingdom».

The minister also added that «Omicron has caused a much higher number of cases, but fortunately the number of death has not risen proportionally.