New rules on quarantine times with immediate effect

The city of Jena is implementing the regulations issued by the state of Thuringia on Friday, 11.09.2021 by the Ministry of Health for dealing with quarantine. These incorporate new recommendations from the Robert Koch Institute on contact person management.

Contact person management continues to follow the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute

As before, contact tracing is based on the current recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on contact tracing for SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Accordingly, a ten-day quarantine applies to close contacts. The recommended measures can be adapted after a risk assessment by the responsible health authority - taking into account the desired protection goals. The risk of infection is assessed accordingly, particularly in schools. If there are predominantly factors that are associated with a higher or high risk of infection, quarantine of the people sitting next to you is not sufficient; instead, more comprehensive quarantine measures or quarantine of the entire class should be considered - this also applies to contact situations that are difficult to monitor or if there is more than one source case.

The Robert Koch Institute has published an overview of this, which can be accessed via this link.

Amended isolation regulations can lead to shorter quarantine periods

The following options are new:

1. 10 days quarantine without a final test
2. 5 days quarantine with PCR testing with sample collection on day 5 at the earliest. Release from quarantine only takes place after receipt of the negative test result. If a test for SARS-CoV-2 is carried out before the end of quarantine, the negative result does not shorten the quarantine period.
3. 7-day quarantine with a high-quality rapid antigen test if a sample is taken on the 7th day at the earliest. Release from quarantine only takes place after receipt of the negative test result. If a test for SARS-CoV-2 is carried out before the end of quarantine, the negative result will not shorten the quarantine period. High-quality rapid antigen tests must be used. The test should be carried out as a third-party test by or under the supervision of trained persons.

It should be noted that the first day of quarantine is the day after the last contact with the source case.

PCR tests can be carried out by all doctors' and pediatricians' practices, as well as all smear test centers of the Thuringian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. In Jena, the Synlab laboratory is authorized to do this:

• Location: Löbstedter Str. 93, swab container
• Registration: by telephone appointment only, Tel.: 0049 3641 507421