Corona virus quarantine period cut to 10 days
A quarantine means restricting the freedom of movement of a healthy person suspected of having been exposed to a generally hazardous communicable disease.
- Voluntary quarantine will be shortened from 14 days to 10 days.
- The length of a quarantine ordered by a doctor of infectious disease will be shortened from 14 days to 10 days.
“On the basis of research, we know that only some of those exposed to an infection become ill. More than half of these infections occur within five days of exposure and nearly all occur within 10 days. Only few become ill after this”, say Taneli Puumalainen, Chief Physician at THL.
“If symptoms suggesting coronavirus emerge after 10 days of exposure, it is still a good idea to do an evaluation of the symptoms in the Omaolo online service or to contact health care.”
Mild Symptoms 7 days Isolation
Isolation means keeping a patient with a disease away from healthy people. In cases of mild coronavirus infections that do not lead to hospitalisation, the isolation time at home will be reduced from 14 days to seven days.
However, home isolation must not end until the symptoms have been gone for two days. Isolation does not need to be continued if symptoms are limited either to changes in the sense of smell or sense of taste, or to a mild dry cough.
“Those who have been infected by coronavirus are at their most contagious a couple of days before the onset of symptoms and a few days thereafter. After this, especially in mild infections, communicability declines rapidly, even if some of the symptoms might continue”, Puumalainen says.
In serious infections requiring hospital care, the minimum isolation period is still 14 days.
Health instructions for the Travellers
Finland introduced new travel-related health security measures in early October. A 10-day period of self-isolation is recommended for travellers arriving in Finland from a higher incidence country. Travellers can shorten their self-isolation period at their discretion if they take two voluntary COVID-19 tests. If a traveller is staying in Finland for less than 72 hours, they do not need to self-isolate or take a second test.
