Quarantine days are reduced for cases with mild or no symptoms

For the purpose of harmonization with the updated bibliographic data by international organizations and on the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Health informs that the Guidelines concerning the release of asymptomatic or mildly isolated coronavirus cases.

Specifically, according to the new instructions, the following apply to release from isolation:

• Asymptomatic individuals: Release from isolation 10 days after receiving the positive sample for SARS-CoV-2.
• People with mild / moderate symptoms: Release from isolation 10 days from the onset of symptoms, meaning that the patient has anorexia for at least 3 days (without the use of antipyretics) or improvement of the remaining symptoms.

It is clarified that the self-limitation for positive cases lasts 10 days. Therefore, the release date of the case is 11^ηday from the date of the first positive laboratory result or the date of onset of symptoms, calculated as day 0.

It is emphasized that in any case the citizens should contact their Personal Doctor, to ensure that the criteria are met. Those citizens who are not registered with a Personal Doctor are released by the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of the Ministry.

The new recommendations apply to all those who fall into the above two groups of cases (asymptomatic or with mild / moderate symptoms), regardless of their vaccination history. The decision to release on 10^η day applies retroactively and the relevant revised instructions have already been informed by the Personal Physicians. For example, a virus-positive asymptomatic person who is currently under 8^η day of its restriction, is released by the Physician's Staff after 2 days. Respectively, if a person is currently at 11^η day of restriction, can be released by the Physician's Staff from today.

Finally, it is clarified that the instructions for close contacts remain as they are, namely:

• Close contact with a vaccination history is immediately excluded from isolation if they have completed their vaccination regimen with a two-dose vaccine or 14 days after vaccination with a single-dose vaccine.
• Close contacts without a history of vaccination should remain in mandatory self-limitation for 14 days from their last contact with the case regardless of laboratory outcome (contact day is set to day 0).
• Close contacts without a history of vaccination can be released on 7^η day after their last contact with the case, provided that they will necessarily have undergone, at their own expense, a PCR examination on 7^η day with a negative result.