Fourteen-day quarantine period is ‘conservative estimate’ for infection, says WHO

The 14-day quarantine period is a “conservative estimate” of how long people may be infectious, a leading World Health Organization figure has said, as he warned European countries to follow the science when considering reducing it.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, cautioned that “the concept of quarantine must be protected”, and urged countries to use scientific due process as they explore “safe reduction options”.

He said: “The 14-day quarantine period is a conservative estimate of the infectious period, which - despite some remaining uncertainty - covers the period, before and after symptoms are present, when people may be infectious.

“Knowing the immense individual and societal impact even a slight reduction in the length of quarantine can have, and given the figures I have just mentioned, I encourage countries of the region to make scientific due process with their experts and explore safe reduction options.

“The concept of quarantine must be protected, continuously adapted, clarified and well-communicated without any ambiguity to people.”

Europe has a “very serious situation unfolding”, he said, as weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first began in March.

It comes as more than half of European countries have reported a greater than ten per cent increase in cases over the past two weeks, with seven countries seeing newly-imported cases increase more than two-fold in that same period.

While lockdown measures saw cases in the region hit an all-time low in June, the numbers this month should “serve as a wake-up call for all of us”, Dr Kluge said.

“Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, they also show alarming rates of transmission across the region,” he said.

“While we did see an increase in cases among older age groups, 50-64 and 65-79 years, in the first week of September, the biggest proportion is still among 25-49 year-olds.”

In light of cases rising among young people in particular, Dr Kluge stressed the importance of empathising with “the fatigue that is setting in” over strict measures to control the virus.

“Fatigue is an expected and natural response to a long-standing public health crisis, which for everyone has had considerable implications for everyday life.

“Understanding who is experiencing fatigue and the barriers and drivers they experience in taking up protection behaviours allows us to segment and tailor actions to those who need it the most, and based on the needs of specific population groups,” he said.

As such, the WHO is promoting four strategies to combat Covid-19 fatigue, which include collecting evidence for targeted interventions, a focus on reducing harm rather than outright shutdowns, engaging young people in finding new and safer ways to be social, and acknowledging the hardship that people are facing.

“For particular sub-groups or age groups, such as youth, for example, this means we make an effort to understand the barriers they face, we engage them, acknowledge the hardship and empathize, and make them part of the solution,” Dr Kluge explained.

“We move from a ‘do not’ to a ‘do differently’, finding newer and safe ways to be social and avoid loneliness.”

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