The time taken to isolate people infected with the Brazilian and South African variants will go from 7 to 10 days, or even seven days more.
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UGO AMEZ / SIPA
The emergence in recent weeks of more contagious variants and less sensitive to vaccination worries the health authorities.
Sunday evening, the DGS decided to strengthen the provisions concerning people infected with the Brazilian or South African variants and their contact cases.
She thus decided to lengthen the duration of their isolation, which went from seven to ten days.
Test.
Isolate.
Control.
And especially not to be overwhelmed.
While three vaccines are now available in France, opening the hope of a return to life without Covid-19, the appearance in recent weeks of variants of the coronavirus is causing serious concern.
And there is something: more contagious and potentially less sensitive to vaccines, the variants of the coronavirus are today monitored like milk on fire.
So France is increasing its vigilance to contain the progression of the English variant, which could force the government to reconfigure the country, and strengthen its measures against South Africa and Brazil, which are less widespread but potentially even more problematic.
On the program: longer isolation for people infected with the Brazilian and South African variants and which can be extended further if necessary.
Ten days of isolation versus seven
"A specific strengthening is planned" for these two variants, explains the General Directorate of Health (DGS), which depends on the ministry, in an urgent note published Sunday evening for health professionals.
Because if their circulation is "today in the minority", they "present a risk of immune and vaccine escape".
In short: the vaccines could be less effective against these two variants, which are also suspected of causing re-infections, due to particular genetic characteristics.
So the DGS decided to strengthen the health protocol surrounding people infected with one or the other of these two variants, identified by the sequencing of their PCR test.
Objective: to maintain control of the epidemic by containing the spread of these variants as early as possible in the chain of contamination.
From now on, the isolation of people contaminated by the South African or Brazilian variant will therefore be reduced to ten days, against seven in the event of infection by the classic strain or by the British variant.
“At the start of the pandemic, health authorities prescribed fourteen days of isolation.
A period then shortened to seven days by adopting the barrier measures, recalls Dr. Jean-Paul Hamon, general practitioner in Hauts-de-Seine and honorary president of the Federation of Doctors of France (FMF).
Many of us found this seven-day period too short: at least seven days of isolation, and, for symptomatic people, at least two more days after symptoms ceased, or on average ten days.
For my part, when I contracted Covid-19, I had a fever for twelve days, and I returned to work two days after the symptoms stopped, i.e. fourteen days.
Reducing this period to ten days of isolation seems reasonable, it corresponds to the reality of the disease ”.
Up to 17 days of isolation for a new positive PCR test
But the lifting of isolation will not be automatic.
"Because of the contagiousness of these two variants, an isolation test must be systematically carried out for people who are carriers", predicts the DGS.
At the end of these ten days, the person contaminated by the Brazilian or South African variant will therefore have to undergo a new PCR test.
If it is negative, no problem: she will be able to resume her activities and return to work if she cannot benefit from telework.
On the other hand, "if the test comes back positive, the isolation is extended for seven days after this result", adds the DGS.
That is at least seventeen days in total.
"We are all laughing, reacts Dr Hamon.
We know that PCR tests take a long time to "go negative".
Patients have had positive PCR tests up to 50 days after the first positive test.
The virus debris detected in PCR does not mean that we are still contagious ”.
If the DGS and the government impose this measure, "it will not be necessary to reconfigure, there will be no one at work, warns Dr. Hamon.
Do the math: 20,000 people each day, if these variants are necessary, we could therefore potentially have 600,000 people affected each month by this measure, and some of whom could not return to work for 50 days!
To demand a negative PCR is completely unrealistic ”.
Reinforced vigilance on contact cases
As for contact cases of people infected with the Brazilian and South African variants, the DGS is also raising the level of vigilance.
They should therefore "benefit from a PCR test on D0, as soon as they are identified", she specifies.
And even in the event of a negative result, she insists on "the importance of respecting the quarantine period of 7 days since the last contact at risk and on the need to perform an RT-PCR test on D7, at the end of this period ".
"In the event of symptoms, immediate isolation and carrying out a test as soon as possible are essential", recalls public health France.
The health agency, whose second flash survey carried out on January 27 revealed that more than 14% of new contaminations would be due to variants, thus confirms the increase in their circulation in France.
Faced with the progression of variants, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) "encourages the establishment of specific studies to measure in a robust manner the effectiveness of vaccination on new variants of SARS-CoV-2".
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