Epidemiologist: Period of Isolation To Be Reduced to 10 Days
ZAGREB, September 21, 2020 - Head of the Croatian Institute for Public Health (HZJZ) Krunoslav Capak announced on Monday that isolation for people who have been infected with the coronavirus would be shortened from 14 to 10 days.
Talking to N1 commercial broadcaster, Capak said the the most important change relates to criteria to end isolation. HZJZ documents that were released today note that isolation lasts for ten days instead of the 14 as was the case until now.
"The latest data indicates that a person's infectiousness declines significantly after seven days. After ten days that person is no longer contagious. There is no need for them to be in isolation for more than 10 days. If they have not had a temperature or symptoms in the preceding 24 hours, they can come out of isolation, with the exception of serious cases," said Capak.
He underscored that people who had been positive or have evidence that they have recovered from the infections, do not need to go into self-isolation for a period of three months, upon their recovery, even if they come into contact with an infected person.
The epidemiologist added that the criteria for testing will not change significantly except for students in dormitories and for people attending medically related courses and they will be treated as medical staff. Medical staff, people at risk and people who work in aged care facilities will continue to have priority for testing, he added.
Capak explains that today's figure of 70 new cases of the virus does not match the reality as Covid clinics work shorter hours during the weekend with less staff and fewer tests are conducted, however, it is a good sign that for two days the numbers have been declining.
As far as the spike in numbers over the summer is concerned, Capak said that this was more manifest at the end of August. "It takes some time for more complicated cases of the disease to appear and for someone who needs to be put on a ventilator to succumb to the disease," he said.
People with grave symptoms, with chronic diseases or some other underlying conditions are hospitalised, he said, adding that there were about 2,500 such cases while a little under ten percent of those with such grave symptoms die.
Currently there are no clusters anywhere in Croatia but we will need to follow the consequences of the folklore festival in Vinkovci and the pride parade in Zagreb which were held last weekend, where a lot of people gathered, he said.
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Krunoslav Capak Announces a Shortened Isolation Period of 10 Days for COVID-Infected
September 17, 2020 - In the latest coronavirus news in Croatia, Krunoslav Capak announces a shortened isolation period of 10 days.
Novi List reports that the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, said on Wednesday that Croatia was ranked 10th in the European Union when it comes to deaths from COVID, and announced a decision to shorten the isolation period for coronavirus-infected people from 14 to ten days by the end of the week.
"The mortality rate in Croatia is about 55 per million inhabitants. We are in tenth on the list of EU countries, we are somewhere in the middle of the EU in that respect," said Capak for Dnevnik Nova TV, talking about coronavirus mortality.
He confirmed that it was decided to shorten the isolation period of the infected to ten days, while the self-isolation of their contacts would remain for 14 days. He expects a document to be passed at the end of the week.
"The most likely option is that the isolation period of infected people will stop after ten days because it turned out that they are no longer contagious. We would not shorten the self-isolation for those who were in contact with the infected. This would stay for 14 days," said Capak, adding that this follows the international trends in determining the length of isolation.
He also commented on the number of newly infected in recent days, stating that there is a slight downward trend in the number of patients.
Asked if he still thinks that the number of newly infected will decline at the end of September, Capak said that "the situation is improving".
According to the evidence, if they were to come into contact with an infected person, those who have already recovered from the coronavirus should not isolate three months after they were infected, Capak said.
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