The new summer wave of contagion due to the sub-variant Omicron 5 seems to approach the peak, which perhaps may already have been achieved. The curve gives the first signs of cooling, while Omicron 5 is increasingly the predominant variant in Italy: it represents 75% of total Covid cases.
Almost 1.5 million Italians are positive, at least those declared, considering that this number is likely to be much higher with all the cases submerged. In the last 24 hours there have been 96 thousand cases and 134 deaths, with a slight slowing down of infections. L’indice Rt it is down, but still well above the critical threshold: it stands at 1.34, slightly down from 1.40 the previous week.
Instead, the incidence is growing (1,158 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants), as well as the occupation of beds in the medical and intensive care area. But the first signs of a trend reversal are beginning to show. This, however, will not lead to a change in the isolation rules: remains the minimum of 7 days to get out of isolation, despite the requests of the Regions. Let’s see what are the rules for quarantine and isolation and why nothing changes for now.
The rules of isolation for positives
The current rules foresee that in case of positivity it is necessary to stay in isolation for at least a week. Even if a swab was carried out first with a negative result. Only after seven days, and with a negative swab carried out in pharmacies or health facilities (not the do-it-yourself ones), it is possible to get out of isolation. If the buffer is still positive, it is possible to terminate the insulation a 21 days away from the test if you no longer have symptoms and regardless of the result of the swab.
Shorter isolation, the request of the Regions
Le Regions I am pressing on the Ministry of Health for change the rules of isolation, softening them for those who no longer have symptoms and test negative for the tampon even before the expiration of seven days. Which would also mean allowing the positive to return to work earlier: a negative swab would be sufficient.
The idea of the Regions is that we can go in this direction thanks to the fact that the positivity from Omicron 5 seems to have a shorter duration, even less than a week. In addition, the Regions are also asking not to count patients who go to hospital for different pathologies and then discover that they are positive for the swab among the hospitalized with Covid.
The Ministry of Health: no to reduction in isolation
For the moment, however, the requests of the Regions are not accepted and the rules don’t change: il Ministry of Health, led by Roberto Speranza, announced that the isolation remains for at least seven days for now. It is still early for the government to evaluate a change in the rules and there are no decisions of this kind in sight: it will continue to evaluate the epidemiological trend and then open a new confrontation with the Regions and evaluate any decisions in another direction later.
Isolation rules, how they might change in the future
For now, no change in sight, therefore. But in the future the rules could be revised, perhaps at the end of this new wave. One hypothesis is that when you have no more symptoms for at least 48 hours it will be a negative swab is sufficient to get out of isolation, without the need for at least seven days to have passed since positivity. Rules that could apply especially to asymptomatic people and to those who have had mild symptoms.
However, a tests in pharmacies or health facilities, while the do-it-yourself ones will not be considered sufficient, as long as the rules really change. In this way, we would adapt to the indications already followed in other European countries. Furthermore, it is assumed, again for the future, of shorten the deadline to 21 days necessary to finish the isolation even if you are not yet negative to the swab: the term could drop to 10 or 14 days.
