In the "seventh wave" caused by the epidemic of the Omicron strain of the new coronavirus, the number of new infections per day has reached a record high since late July.
When the new corona epidemic grows, everyone can be infected no matter how careful they are.
In addition, anyone, including the family of an infected person, may become a close contact.
However, the nature of the Omicron strain has become clearer, and a rapid increase in the number of close contacts will have a large impact on socioeconomic activities.
From where to where is a rich contact person?
What is the definition of a close contact person?
How long is the stay-at-home period?
I interviewed what to do if I became a rich contact person.
Q1. What is the definition of a close contact person in the first place?
Where is the rich contact?
A close contact is someone who may have been infected through close or prolonged contact with an infected person.
The definition is written in the document "Guidelines for Proactive Epidemiological Surveys of Novel Coronavirus Infection Patients" (November 29, 2021 edition) published by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Here are some key points to consider when determining if you are a close contact:
[Period of contact]
▽ The period from 2 days before the day when symptoms appeared to the infected person until the criteria for medical treatment and discharge are met.
*10 days have passed since the onset of symptoms, and 72 hours have passed since the symptoms subsided.
(If the infected person is asymptomatic
,
from 2 days before the test sample is collected until 7 days after the sample is collected)
If you have been in contact with each other for more than 15 minutes within a reachable distance.
▽ When there is a possibility of direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, etc.
If you have an infected person in your family or are caring for an infected person, it is likely that many of them will fall under this guideline. If infection prevention measures have been taken, they are not considered close contacts.
Also, even if the contact lasted for more than 15 minutes, the specific circumstances of the place, such as whether there was a conversation, whether the environment was such as singing or shouting, whether there was sufficient ventilation, etc. Whether or not you are judged to be a close contact depends on the situation.
Q2. Rich contact Who decides in the first place?
Regarding the response to close contacts, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare allows local governments to flexibly make decisions according to local conditions, such as when the infection situation is worsening.
In addition, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has the following views.
Regarding whether or not you are a close contact, the response will differ depending on where the infected person occurred.
1. If there is an infected person at home If
a family member living together becomes infected, public health centers will identify close contacts and request movement restrictions.
This is because family members who live together are at high risk of being infected.
Even though it is “specific”, it is not necessary for the public health center to interview each individual.
2. If an infected person appears in the workplace, etc.
The risk of infection is considered to be lower than that of family members living together, and if infection control measures are taken firmly at the workplace, etc., there may be cases where the infection does not spread any further.
For this reason, public health centers are not required to uniformly identify close contacts.
You will have to decide whether the workplace where the infected person came out or the person you came into contact with is a close contact.
3. If an infected person appears at a medical institution, elderly facility, etc. Even with
the Omicron strain, which has a short incubation period and onset interval, at a facility where there are many people at high risk, the public health center will quickly identify close contacts. It is supposed to be
4. If an infected person appears at a nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, etc. It
is desirable that local governments and boards of education work together to determine in advance how to identify close contacts.
In particular, there may be differences in the implementation status of measures such as masks for preschoolers and elementary school students and above, so there is a possibility that the response will be different.
Q3. What should I do if my family becomes an infected close contact person?
[how long are you waiting at home?
]
If an infected person appears in a family member living together and becomes a close contact person, it is required to wait at home.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare used to set the waiting period in this case to seven days in principle, but in order to maintain socioeconomic activities, it will be five days from July 22, 2022.
[When do you count the number of days to wait?
]
1. The day the infected person developed
symptoms 2. If the infected person is asymptomatic, the day the specimen was collected 3. The day the
infection
was discovered and "infection control measures" were taken
0 days.
From there, you will have to wait at home for five days, and the restrictions will be lifted on the sixth day.
However, if both of the government-approved rapid test kits (antigen qualitative tests) are negative on the second and third days, the restrictions can be lifted from the third day.
What kind of measures are the "infection measures" written in 3.?
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the "infection control" assumed this time is not a strict isolation such as completely separating rooms and eliminating all contact.
Specifically, to the extent possible in daily life, it is recommended to
wear a mask ,
wash hands and disinfect hands
, avoid sharing supplies, etc.,
implement disinfection,
and ventilate frequently.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, if it is difficult for young children to thoroughly wear masks, measures such as thorough hand washing and avoiding sharing towels can be considered.
In addition, it is necessary to take basic infection control measures as much as possible, such as ventilation and avoiding contact as much as possible.
[What if another family member develops during the waiting period?
]
If a family other than the one who was first found to be infected is confirmed to be infected during the waiting period, the number of days will be recounted.
[When a child is infected]
<Mild>
Let's consider a case where a child is confirmed to be infected and stays at home due to a mild illness.
Even if the test results are not available, if the child has taken infection control measures at home immediately after the onset of symptoms, count the child's onset date as 0 days, and the family's home standby is 5 days. It's days.
And it will be lifted on the 6th day.
However, if no particular measures have been taken at home until, for example, the child is confirmed to be infected by a test two days after the onset of symptoms, the day the test was confirmed will be considered day 0, and the family will be treated for the following five days. will be waiting at home.
If the infected child himself/herself is 10 days from the date of onset of symptoms and 72 hours have passed since the symptoms subsided, the medical treatment will be completed without examination.
*If your symptoms worsen, be sure to consult a consultation desk.
<Asymptomatic>
If an infected child is asymptomatic, the medical treatment period for the child will be lifted 7 days after the specimen is collected.
However, if no measures are taken at home until the infection is confirmed, the family's stay-at-home period will be counted as 0 days from the day the infection was confirmed.
Whether you have symptoms or no symptoms, if you start taking infection control measures without waiting for the results on the day you take the test, you may be able to lift the stay-at-home order for those who have had close contact with you sooner.
[can I live normally when my home standby is lifted?
]
If the stay-at-home order for those who have had close contact is lifted, they will be able to commute to work or school.
According to a report by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (January 13, 2022), if infected with the Omicron strain, the probability of developing symptoms by the 3rd day is 53.05%, the probability of developing symptoms by the 5th day is 82.65%, 7 The probability of developing the disease by day 1 is 94.53%.
This means that a 5-day waiting period may leave you with some risk.
For this reason, even after the infected person's recuperation period is over, until 7 days have passed, they should check their own health condition by taking a temperature check for fever, and avoid using high-risk places and eating together. Thorough infection control measures are required.
*It is important to continue to take general infection control measures even after this period has passed.
Q4. What should I do if I become a close contact person outside my home?
[If an infected person appears at work]
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, if an infected person appears at a workplace such as an office, basically there will be no action restrictions such as waiting at home.
However, if you have been in contact with an infected person, visit high-risk elderly people or facilities for the elderly, eat and drink with an unspecified number of people, or participate in large-scale events for seven days from the last day of contact. It means to inform people to refrain from actions with a high risk of infection.
In addition, if you eat and drink with an infected person without taking measures such as wearing a mask at work, take measures to prevent the spread of infection, such as waiting for 5 days and voluntarily confirming a negative test. I am asking you to take
However, caution is required in places where many people at high risk of becoming seriously ill gather, such as medical institutions and facilities for the elderly.
For this reason, if you become a close contact person, you will be asked to wait for 5 days.
At this time, as with close contact at home, if the antigen test is negative on the 2nd and 3rd days, the waiting period can be canceled from the 3rd day.
This applies to everyone, not just essential workers.
In addition, it is possible for medical and nursing care workers to go to work if they are tested daily and confirmed negative, even if they have been in close contact.
Q5. How should I live while waiting at home?
When staying at home, refrain from going out for nonessential purposes as much as possible, and if you have no choice but to go out, take infection control measures such as wearing a mask and washing your hands to avoid contact with others.
It also means that you need to refrain from commuting to work or school.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Infectious Disease Control Department, which is in charge of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's new corona measures, is doing the following.
▽Refrain from going out unnecessarily and wait at home instead of going to work or school.
▽During the standby period, take your temperature twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, to check for any abnormalities in your physical condition.
▽ If you have symptoms such as fever and cough, visit your family doctor or a medical institution that can test and treat the new corona.
▽ Avoid using public transportation as much as possible.
If you have been in close contact with someone, it is important to think that you may be infected and act until the specified period has passed.
For those close to you who have become infected with the new coronavirus ~If you think you are a close contact~
*Leaving the NHK website
Q6. What should I do with a close contact of a close contact?
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Infectious Diseases Control Department, when a family member comes into close contact with someone, ``Since there is no concept of ``a close contact of a close contact,'' all family members should take action, except for those who have had close contact. There are no restrictions, and the government does not restrict actions."
However, there are cases where the workplace or school has its own rules, so we would like you to discuss with your company or school and follow the rules of each.
Of course, there is a possibility that a close contact person may develop symptoms while waiting and find out that they were actually infected.
In preparation for the unlikely event that they are infected, during the waiting period for the family members who have been in close contact,
separate spaces as much as possible, such as avoiding sharing towels at home and staggering meal times.
▽Observe cough etiquette by wearing
a mask
▽Try to wash your hands and use alcohol- based hand sanitizer ▽
Disinfect frequently touched items such as doorknobs and TV remote controls ▽Take
precautions such as regular ventilation I want it.
Omicron strains are said to have a lower rate of developing severe symptoms, so you may be tempted to take it lightly than before, but even so, especially for the elderly and those with underlying diseases, Severe cases have been reported worldwide.
Be vigilant, especially if you have family members who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill due to underlying medical conditions or being elderly.
Q7, re-expansion of infection What should I be careful about?
It is known that Omicron strains are often transmitted in households.
The route of infection of the Omicron strain is the same as that of previous new coronaviruses, and it is said that the main infection is by flying infection, especially so-called "micro flying" (including aerosols) in poorly ventilated places. It is thought that it can be prevented by thorough infection control measures.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare cites the following precautions when family members are suspected of being infected.
1. Separate rooms
2. Only a limited number of people take care of family members suspected of being infected
3. Wear masks
4. Wash hands frequently
5. Ventilate
6. Disinfect common areas touched by hands
7 Wash dirty linens and clothes
8. Trash is sealed and thrown away
In addition, restrictions on people who have been in close contact with Omicron have been eased compared to before, but it is still important for each individual to take measures against infection.