The Public Health Commission of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) has approved modifying the document ‘Strategy for the early detection, surveillance and control of COVID-19’ in its update of December 1, 2021.
The modification has been approved by a majority and refers to the section on the quarantines of close contacts of a positive confirmed by the variant known as Omicron. From this moment, the close contacts of these positives should not be kept in home quarantine for 10 days.
The members of the Public Health Commission emphasise that, despite not being obliged to carry out this isolation, during this period of 10 days after the last contact with a confirmed case, they must limit their activities to the essential ones, reducing their interactions as much as possible. In addition to scrupulously following COVID-19 infection prevention measures, such as the use of masks and closely monitoring the possible appearance of compatible symptoms.
In addition to this agreement, the Public Health Commission underlines the importance of vaccination, since the vaccine has been shown to be highly effective in severe cases, hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths.
For this reason, the Commission urges to speed up vaccination in those people over 12 years of age who have not yet been vaccinated. In addition, it emphasises the importance of protecting the most vulnerable and recalls that the booster dose or third dose has shown its effectiveness in these groups and insist on promoting the vaccination of authorised groups, especially in people over 60 years of age, who are the most vulnerable.
At the same time, the Public Health Commission recognises the good pace of childhood vaccination in boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 11 and encourages all families with minors of these ages to make an appointment to receive this protection.
Likewise, the Public Health Commission reiterates the importance of insisting on the messages of caution and care against the virus, with the use of the mask in closed spaces and in open spaces where the stipulated safety distance of, at least 1.5 meters cannot be maintained. hand washing, and ventilation.