Olivier Véran announced that the duration of isolation increases from seven to ten days in the event of a positive test -

Jacques Witt / SIPA

  • Olivier Véran announced Thursday that the duration of the isolation of people who tested positive for the coronavirus was increased from seven to ten days.

  • A measure which is explained in particular by the large proportion of the British variant in the tests, now at 36% and constantly increasing.

  • However, this British variant would have a longer contagiousness than the original strain of the coronavirus.

This is the main announcement by Olivier Véran during his press conference on the coronavirus epidemic on Thursday.

The Minister of Health announced that the duration of isolation, in the event of a positive test, would be reduced from seven to ten days.

The measure will take effect "from Monday".

20 Minutes provides

a quick update on this new situation.

Why an extension of the period of isolation?

The lengthening of the duration of isolation is mainly due to the circulation of variants in France, and in particular of the British variant.

Olivier Véran justified it as follows: “Certain scientific studies suggest the possibility that the variants would be responsible for a longer duration of contagiousness than the classic Covid-19.

»Published a few days ago, a study by researchers at Harvard University actually suggests that, for people infected with the British variant, the average duration of the infection would be 13.3 days, against only 8 , 2 days for the “classic” strain.

To put it more vulgarly, people affected by the British variant would therefore be infected for longer and therefore could transmit Covid-19 for longer.

Hence the need to isolate oneself there longer so as not to transmit the virus.

This, clinical reports in France also show it, as indicated by Dr Clarisse Audigier-Valette, having had many patients with the British variant in the intercommunal hospital center of Toulon-La Seyne-sur-Mer, where she directs the 'Covid-19 unit:' The viral load stays much longer in patients with the British variant.

Normally, in a normal form, the person is no longer positive ten days or less after the onset of symptoms.

With the British variant, even on the tenth day, the viral load is still very high, which is why we postpone the duration of the isolation.

"

Why are all positive cases affected, and not just the English variant cases?

Several reasons for this.

First, not all tests detect whether it is a variant contamination or not.

Identification is therefore not possible upstream, it would be a question of shaking things up in terms of quarantine.

All the more so as the British variant continues to grow in importance in the total proportion of cases in France.

Representing 25% of cases last week, it is now at 36%, according to Olivier Véran's comments on Thursday, and should become the majority in the coming weeks, especially as it increases, the classic strain decreases.

In fact, "in view of its distribution and its dispersion, a positive test for the British variant will soon become the norm in France", notes Clarisse Audigier-Valette.

All the more reason to make ten days of isolation the norm as well.

Even more worrying, the doctor noted, in the numerous clusters of the Var, "that the moderate or severe forms of the disease, those requiring in particular oxygenation, lasts longer and requires hospitalizations and longer care, in particular in young patients (30-45 years) ”.

A patient would be hospitalized about twice as long if he has the British variant, the practitioner also observed.

What to worry about a possible saturation of hospitals, the most formidable effect of the coronavirus on the health system.

And therefore requiring measures to try to stem the spread of this variant a little.

Who is concerned ?

As indicated, only people "whose diagnostic test is positive" are affected by this ten-day isolation period.

Contact persons must remain in isolation for seven days for the moment.

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