My Authors
Read all threads
There appears to be a lot of confusion between #ISOLATION and #QUARANTINE.

These are two distinct and crucial public health measures required to prevent the spread of #COVID19.

However, they are triggered by different things and the guidance differs for both... Here's why 1/n
Firstly a few important definitions
#ISOLATION (or self-isolation) is used for people with confirmed/suspected COVID-19.

#QUARANTINE (or restricted movements) is used for people who were potentially exposed to the virus, via a close contact or travel, but who are NOT sick.
2/n
The current Irish guidance recommends that you can end #ISOLATION If your test comes back negative (e.g. if you had symptoms).

If your test is positive, you can only end #ISOLATION if:
No fever for 5 days and
14 days since first developed symptoms.

www2.hse.ie/conditions/cor…
3/n
Whereas the current Irish guidance recommends that you #QUARANTINE for 14 days if you:
are a close contact
live with someone who has symptoms
arrive from a country that is not on the green list.

This remain true even if you test negative. Why?

www2.hse.ie/conditions/cor…
4/n
So #ISOLATION is based on the period of infectiousness.

Evidence to-date suggests this is ~10 days from symptom onset, however some people can be infectious beyond that. Hence the current Irish guidance of 14 days, but some countries differ
journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-… 5/n
#QUARANTINE is based on the incubation period - so the time between exposure and symptom onset. This varies greatly from person to person. It is on average 5-6 days, but can be up to 14 days. People may have the virus for this period w/o any symptoms

who.int/news-room/comm… 6/n
Importantly people CAN transmit the virus before the onset of symptoms (i.e. pre-symptomatic) and even when people never display any symptoms at all (i.e. asymptomatic). This has been reported to be ~ 50% of all transmissions.
medrxiv.org/content/10.110… 7/n
So why can't you end #QUARANTINE with a negative test?

The main reason is that in most cases the virus (should you have it) may be at such a low level during the incubation phase that it wouldn't be detected. Meanwhile you may soon become infectious
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/… 8/n
In summary, #ISOLATION and #QUARANTINE are distinct but important public health measures, with differences based on the underpinning science.
If we are to beat this virus, it is critical that everyone comes together and does their part.

#StayAtHome #washyourhands #WearAMask 9/n
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with Kieran Walsh, PhD

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!