Contacts of those infected by the omicron variant will have to keep quarantine even if they are vaccinated
Close contacts of those infected by the omicron variant - or suspected of being, since not all samples are sequenced - will have to be quarantined even if they are vaccinated. This is reflected in the latest update that the Ministry of Health has made of the Strategy for the early detection, surveillance and control of COVID-19 after the detection of the new variant in Spain.
This is an exception because, for a few months, vaccinated people who are in contact with a positive are exempt from isolating themselves, although it is recommended to perform a diagnostic test within ten days of contact and monitor the possible appearance of symptoms.
The strategy already included situations that escape this generality, to which omicron is now added. "Only fully vaccinated contacts that are contacts of cases produced by Omicron, Beta or Gamma variants will quarantine," says the latest version of the document, published on December 1 after receiving approval from the Public Health Commission.
The problem with this approach is to know which cases respond to this variant because, as the protocol points out, "confirmation of the type of variant is not usually available at the time of diagnosis." So Health indicates that the exceptional quarantine measure "should also be applied to those cases in which there is suspicion either by preliminary information through specific PCR or because the case is part of an outbreak that includes cases produced by said variants."
