WHO calls for a 14-day quarantine period amid alarming rates of COVID-19 transmission

18:13, 17.09.2020

The World Health Organization warned Thursday of “alarming rates of transmission” of Covid-19 across Europe and cautioned countries against shortening quarantine periods.

The WHO’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said the number of coronavirus cases seen in September “should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.”

“Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region,” he told an online press conference from the Danish capital Copenhagen.

The health body also said it would not change its guidance calling for a 14-day quarantine period for anyone exposed to the novel coronavirus, as reported by France 24.

“Our quarantine recommendation of 14 days has been based on our understanding of the incubation period and transmission of the disease. We would only revise that on the basis of a change of our understanding of the science,” WHO Europe’s senior emergency officer Catherine Smallwood said.

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Catherine Smallwood

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World Health Organization