The ministerial committee that deals with Shin Bet surveillance during the coronavirus crisis is expected to recommend that the government reduce the quarantine period for people who came in contact with coronavirus patients. The move would help Israel’s economy.
Last month, the Health Ministry shortened the recovery and quarantine release times for coronavirus patients in certain cases after it adopted the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Now, some sick patients only have to stay in isolation for up to 10 days.
"The Health Ministry has adopted the recommendations of the World Health Organization and shortened the recovery and isolation periods in some cases," a statement by the ministry said.
The decision was based on new research that indicates that the chance of spreading the virus and infecting others is very low after nine days, it continued.
However, there are different criteria for different patients and the shortening of the patient's quarantine period and his or her classification as "recovered" are to be determined only by a physician, according to different data as detailed in the administrative directive, the ministry stressed.
The reason that people who came in contact with a coronavirus patient but have not yet tested positive enter 14 days of isolation is because WHO shows that the incubation period for COVID-19, which is the time between exposure to the virus (becoming infected) and symptom onset, is on average 5-6 days, however can be up to 14 days. During this period, also known as the “pre- symptomatic” period, some infected persons can be contagious.
The Shin Bet has tracked some 67,504 people who were found to be in close contact with a confirmed carrier during contact tracing, Ynet said.