Geneva: Even though most people recovered from Covid-19 in five to seven days of the onset of symptoms, the World Health Organization (WHO) still recommended Quarantine 14 days, an official from the organization said the press direction on Tuesday.
However, said Abdi Mahamud from the Covid-19 WHO incident management support team, countries must make decisions about the duration of quarantine based on their individual situations.
In countries with low infections, longer quarantine time can help keep the case number as low as possible, he explained. However, in places with escaping cases, shorter quarantine can be justified to keep the country run, he added.
The official WHO told reporters that it was possible to infect influenza and Covid-19. However, because both are separate viruses that attack the body in a different way, there is a “little risk” of those who combine new viruses.
According to WHO, on December 29, 2021, around 128 countries have reported cases of omicron variants. In South Africa, which has seen a sharp increase in cases followed by a relatively fast drop-off, hospitalization and mortality rates remain low.
However, the situation will not be the same in other countries, Mahamud said.
“While the latest studies all indicate the fact that the omicron variant affects the upper respiratory system than the lungs, which is good news, high-risk individuals and those who cannot be managed can still be severely ill from the variant,” he added.
Mahamud said that Omicron variants could follow other strains in a matter of weeks, especially in areas with a large number of vulnerable people – especially those who were not vaccinated.
In Denmark, he said, it took two weeks for the case number to double with the Alfa variant, while with the omicron variant, it only took two days.
“The world has never seen a transmitted virus like that,” he said.
The WHO strategic advisory group on immunization will be encountered on January 19 to review the situation. The topic of the discussion agenda includes booster time, mixing vaccines and vaccine composition in the future.
