NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has updated guidelines for citizens on coronavirus testing and quarantine in areas where comprehensive infection tracing is not possible. This is a recommendation for the current epidemic situation, which applies to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated people.
Coronavirus infections have increased sharply with the spread of omicron in Finland. This has led to congestion in infection tracking in several municipalities. In this case, a large proportion of those infected and exposed will not be reached in time and tracing will not help in combating infections.
The coronavirus vaccines in use provide very good protection against coronavirus viral disease, and for the majority of those infected, omicron causes mild illness.
If you are in basic health and have mild respiratory symptoms and your general well-being is good, there is usually no need to contact your healthcare provider or apply for a coronavirus test. However, THL recommends that you voluntarily avoid contact with anyone other than those living in the same household for at least five days.
You can take a home test if you wish. However, it is important that you avoid symptomatic contact for at least five days, even if the home test is negative. If symptoms persist for more than three days, we recommend that you avoid contact until you have been asymptomatic for at least two days.
Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube
If the home test is positive, it is usually not necessary to confirm the result with a another test.
If you live in the same household as a person who had a positive home test or live or have otherwise been in close contact with a person who tested positive in a healthcare setting:
- If possible, avoid contact outside the home until five days have passed since the onset of symptoms in the affected person. If several family members become ill, five days are counted from the beginning of the symptoms of the last person to become ill.
- Use a face mask outside the home.
- Stay telecommuting if possible. If you are completely asymptomatic, you can go to work using a face mask and avoiding contact.
- An asymptomatic child can go to school or kindergarten five days after the onset of symptoms in an affected family member.
Related:
- Covaxin vaccine candidate booster dose generated robust neutralizing antibody responses against both Omicron and Delta
- Salmonella outbreak: Multistate outbreak investigated linked to bearded dragons
- China: Additional H5N6 avian influenza cases reported for 2021
- Botulism: Local emergency in Posadas, Argentina
- Many vaccines can cross-protect patients against multiple pathogens
- Imperial College London study: T cells from other coronaviruses cross-protect against infection with SARS-CoV-2
