This holiday season, a debate has been ongoing as to how long a person should self-isolate if they don’t have any symptoms and are fully vaccinated after testing positive.
US health officials warn that given the highly transmissible Omicron and Delta variants, more people are expected to get infected with the virus. Anyone who has the virus should isolate for 10 full days, current guidance from the US CDC states.
But recent talks indicate that countries are reconsidering this number. In England for example, people who test positive will be able to stop self-isolating up to three days early if they have two negative lateral flow test results.
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed today that those with COVID can leave isolation earlier if they have negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven of their quarantine period.
Elsewhere, Dr Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst said that ‘we should have as short of a time period needed for isolation as possible for a number of reasons.’
She argued for shorter isolation periods for healthcare workers, who are needed on the workforce. She also said that shorter isolation periods would incentivise people to find out if they’re positive or not.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also revealed to be considering shortening recommended isolation time for those fully vaccinated or even boosted.
Should Malta follow suit and update it’s quarantine measures for those who test positive? The update could potentially change how we view the entire pandemic situation, especially in relation to the economy and mental health issues caused by quarantine.
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Many are suspecting that this is being done just in case schools close down after the festive season given the surge of COVID-19 cases. With their books with them, students would transition easier to online learning methods should the directive be issued.
This was however met with some criticism by parents, who expressed that online education impacted the mental health of children, and some parents, quite negatively. Some parents also suspected a ‘hidden directive’ which is preempting a closing of schools.
Teachers and educators replied on such post expressing these concerns, revealing that there aren’t any directives incentivising them to send kids back with their books. However, nothing is wrong with taking the precaution, they expressed, given the insecurity caused by the pandemic.
Both parents and teachers seem equally divided about such a matter. One teacher said that they encouraged students to take their files home so they can revise their work.
Teachers also expressed how teaching in person is much more favourable to teaching online in the same way parents prefer their kids going to school in person.