With Omicron cases increasing rapidly in Ontario and other provinces, public health experts and policymakers are reviewing quarantine and isolation rules, due to new emerging data on the variant and to avoid shortages. of personnel in hospitals.
On Wednesday, the Ontario government announced that hospital workers who have been in close contact with someone who is COVID positive do not have to stay home and isolate themselves as long as they test negative every day for 10 days.
And earlier on Wednesday, the UK government announced the reduction of COVID-19 self-isolation periods from 10 to seven days for people who test negative on a rapid test two days in a row, a decision that experts hailed as “significant.”
Ontario’s decision to revise the isolation protocol for healthcare workers comes after reports of a growing number of hospital staff who recently tested positive for COVID-19, or who have been exposed to the virus in the community, raising concerns about critical staff shortages that could impact patient care.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer for health, said the province wants to have enough rapid tests for hospital staff exposed to the virus so they can get tested every day instead of having to isolate himself for 10 days. as required by current policy.
“We are partnering with our local public health agencies, we are learning from their experience, and we anticipate an increase in cases where we will need to provide more comprehensive advice to the public, both on the testing strategy (and) the isolation strategy.” Moore said.
He added that he anticipates a “20 to 30 percent risk of absenteeism” due to exposure to COVID-19 if asymptomatic hospital staff who are in close contact with COVID-positive patients have to stay home from work.
Alexandra Hilkene, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott, said the guidance now is for hospital staff to take a CRP test as soon as they are exposed to COVID-19, and take another seven days later. In the meantime, they can continue to work if they test negative every day via self-administered rapid antigen tests and are asymptomatic.
For hospital workers living with someone who is COVID positive, laboratory PCR tests must be done immediately, as well as on days 7 and 14 or 15. They must also take a rapid test every day and for 10 days afterward.
Dr. John Granton, Intensive Care Physician and Acting Medical Director of Health Services at University Health Network in Toronto, said discussions have already begun at UHN to revise the rules for exposures to COVID-19, particularly for workers in the United States. health they are now quickly coming into contact with the virus, forcing them to stay home.
“We see a lot of staff testing positive or more commonly having a community exposure,” Granton said, adding that hospitals have been debating the balance between the theoretical risk of a COVID-19 exposure versus the risk of not being able to support clinical programs or patient needs.
He said that for people with a sick family member living at home, the likelihood of testing positive is higher, as contact is more frequent and ventilation tends to be poor at home. But those who are exposed to COVID-19 through a limited encounter with a patient or a coworker, especially in hospitals that are generally better ventilated, are less likely to get sick.
Prior to Ontario’s recent recommendation, staff exposed to the virus from home often have to isolate themselves for at least 20 days (an additional 10 days after the quarantine period for the COVID-positive household member).
Other provinces have also raised concerns about having too many staff out of work due to exposure to the virus. New Brunswick Medical Director of Health Jennifer Russell said her province is considering probationary stay policies for hospital workers, while Reports Say Quebec Is Considering Keeping Asymptomatic COVID-Positive Nurses At Work to care for patients who have also been exposed.
However, Quebec’s proposal has been rejected by unions representing nurses in the province, who said they are concerned about exposing other essential workers to the virus by keeping asymptomatic staff at work.
For the general population, periods of isolation could also be revised given the UK’s “significant” decision to change its own, Granton said. He added that the UK guidance is likely related to emerging data, including a study from Oslo, Norway – showing that Omicron’s incubation period may be shorter than other COVID-19 variants.
“If you haven’t gotten sick by the seventh day, you’re not likely to get sick,” Granton said. Previously, the incubation period for other variants, the time from exposure to illness, was up to a week. But new research shows that Omicron’s disease could develop three days or less after exposure.
Preliminary evidence from other countries also shows that Omicron does not have a significant impact on children’s hospitalizations, which Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer for health, said is promising. He added that he doesn’t see a reason to delay going back to school after the December break.
Data on the Omicron variant is still emerging, Moore said, and the situation could change in the coming weeks. Ontario reported 4,383 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, an increase of 132.5 percent from last week’s average, and cases are expected to increase.
Reference-www.thestar.com