The quarantine rules for children under 12 that apply when there is an infection within the family will be adjusted again. The children must then be quarantined, unless they have recently had the corona virus themselves. That says the health institute Sciensano on Sunday.
The quarantine rules for children under 12 have already been changed a few times in recent days. At one point they were linked to the vaccination status of the adults they stayed with, and there were different rules if an adult is fully vaccinated or not.
“However, that rule has caused great confusion and was very difficult to implement in the field,” says Sciensano. “That is why the Interministerial Conference (IMC) together with the education ministers decided to simplify the regulations again, with all children in this case being considered as unvaccinated high-risk contacts.”
This means that if there is an infection in the family, the children must in principle be quarantined for ten days. They are allowed to leave the house from day 7 if they take a negative self-test every day and if they always wear a mouth mask in indoor areas (for children from 6 years). If the child develops symptoms, a test should be taken by a health care professional.
Only children who have also had the virus in the past five months should not be quarantined. They must take special precautions, such as “strictly wearing a mouth mask in indoor areas (for children from 6 years old) and limiting contacts, especially with risk groups”.
From tomorrow
Sciensano points out that the rules will apply from Monday, but that the technical aspects for the call centers will not be in order until January 20. “So this may lead to conflicting messages for parents in the coming days, which we deeply regret,” it sounds.
Also look at: Again some schools are switching to distance learning after infections
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