THL cuts coronavirus quarantine to 10 days

The National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) has instructed all agencies concerned to reduce the coronavirus quarantine period from the current 14 days to 10 days, effective from said THL in a press release on Thursday. The updated instruction comes into effect from 12 October and the change will be applicable to voluntary quarantines as well as quarantines ordered by a doctor of infectious diseases.

A quarantine means restricting the freedom of movement of a healthy person suspected of having been exposed to a generally hazardous communicable disease.

“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,” said THL Chief Physician Taneli Puumalainen.

“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 healthcare,” he added.

The length of isolation in mild coronavirus infections will be reduced to seven days.

Isolation means keeping a patient with a disease away from healthy people. In cases of mild coronavirus infections that do not lead to hospitalization. The span of a home quarantine 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.

In serious infections requiring hospital care, the minimum isolation period is still 14 days.