Close contacts of Covid-19 cases should still quarantine, say experts

 

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has said that asymptomatic healthcare workers who are close contacts of Covid-19 patients no longer need to be quarantined.

PETALING JAYA: Close contacts of Covid-19 cases should still undergo quarantine, health experts say, as Putrajaya considers a plan to exempt the public from such requirements.

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said it was still too early to recommend this as a protocol for the public as it depended on whether the Omicron variant was less severe than expected.

Omicron, while more contagious, was considered to be less severe.

Lee said it would take a while before a “clearer picture” emerged.

Dr Lee Boon Chye.

“If the rate of serious illness, hospitalisation and mortality from Omicron is small, then it would not be feasible to impose strict preventive measures.

“We need to strike a balance between healthcare and the cost of preventive measures,” he told FMT.

He was commenting on health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s statement that the government might allow for the rule governing health workers to be applied to the public.

Recently, a circular was issued by health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stating that asymptomatic healthcare workers who were close contacts of Covid-19 patients no longer needed to be quarantined. Instead, they would need to undergo tests on certain days.

Kumitaa Theva Das.

Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Kumitaa Theva Das said it was riskier to have the same protocol for the public, though it could be executed with a proper risk assessment and monitoring system.

She said that different SOPs might be used for the public in different cases. For example, those who could work from home could self-isolate.

The type of vaccine they were inoculated with and whether they received a booster shot might also make a difference, she said.

Kumitaa said someone who received Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines might be perceived as having less of a risk.

“We would also need to be honest and accountable about frequent testing and our test results,” she said.

However, she welcomed Noor Hisham’s statement, saying it was inevitable that many would be close contacts on a weekly basis, especially healthcare workers, with more than 25,000 Covid-19 cases being reported daily.

“If all asymptomatic healthcare workers who are close contacts self-isolate, this would immensely burden the rest of the healthcare workforce,” she said.

Kumitaa said since healthcare workers had received their booster jabs, undergone frequent tests, and were likely in full personal protective equipment, it would ensure positive cases were spotted early on and thus minimise the risk of not self-isolating.

Lee echoed Kumitaa’s view, saying although there was a risk of transmitting the virus to others, the risk was small considering the precautionary measures taken by healthcare workers while on duty.

“We are running about 20,000 to 30,000 cases per day. It is unavoidable that somehow healthcare workers will become close contacts,” he said. -  FMT