WHO expert: 14-day isolation just an estimate

Georgina Hayes

THE 14-day quarantine period is a “conservative estimate” of how long people may be infectious, a leading World Health Organisation figure has said, as he warned European countries to follow the science.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’S regional director for Europe, cautioned that “the concept of quarantine must be protected”, and urged countries to use scientific due process as they explored “safe reduction options”.

His comments came after France last week slashed its quarantine period from 14 days to seven, with Jean Castex, the prime minister, saying the first week was the time when there was a “real risk” of contagion.

Dr Kluge said: “The 14-day quarantine period is a conservative estimate of the infectious period, which – despite some remaining uncertainty – covers the period before and after symptoms are present, when people may be infectious.

“Knowing the immense individual and societal impact even a slight reduction in the length of quarantine can have, and given the figures I have just mentioned, I encourage countries of the region to make scientific due process with their experts and explore safe reduction options.”

Europe has a “very serious situation unfolding”, he said, as weekly cases have now exceeded those reported in March. More than half of European countries have reported a greater than 10 per cent increase in cases over the past two weeks, with seven countries seeing newly imported cases increase more than twofold in that same period.

The numbers should “serve as a wake-up call for all of us”, Dr Kluge said, adding that the WHO was promoting a number of strategies to combat Covid-19 “fatigue”.