Dubai Health Authority: quarantine after 15-minute contact with Covid-19 case


Nick Webster
  • English
  • Arabic

Anyone who is in contact for 15 minutes with someone who has Covid-19 must quarantine at home for 10 days, Dubai Health Authority said.

Whether or not the person has symptoms or has recorded a negative PCR test, they must isolate as a precaution to prevent the potential spread of the virus.

The latest advice from the authority offered guidance for anyone who has been within two metres of someone with coronavirus for 15 minutes or more.

“The quarantine period is set as 10 days because latest studies have found that this is the incubation period of the virus,” said Dr Hend Al Awadhi, the DHA's head of health promotion and education.

“Even if close contacts don’t have any symptoms they can still be infectious and infect others, which is why it is mandatory to complete the 10-day quarantine period.”

On completing quarantine, there is no need to undergo a PCR test if there are no symptoms, doctors said.

If symptoms appear during the quarantine period, close contacts must take a PCR test.

If that result is positive, they must follow home isolation or institutional isolation procedures. If it is negative, they must continue their quarantine period.

Do not meet people while under quarantine

Being in quarantine does not mean someone is infected with Covid-19, but it is still a mandatory precautionary measure to ensure the infection is not transmitted to others. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you do not meet others while quarantining.

Dr Al Awadhi encouraged people to abide by the measures to help to stop the spread of the virus and protect loved ones as well as the community.

People quarantining at home should not receive visitors.

Do not share items, rooms or toilets

Certain conditions for home quarantine are required to ensure the contact person is separated from other household members. They must not share items, rooms or toilets with anyone.

To quarantine at home, the following measures must be met:

1: Availability of a separate room with a private bathroom

2: The quarantining person should be in a stable health condition

3: Must have an active phone number

4: Availability of a first aid kit that includes a thermometer

5: Awareness and commitment to quarantine procedures related to personal care and waste management

If it is not possible to adhere to these measures, you may be placed in institutional quarantine.

What to do if sharing a household with high-risk people

The DHA guidebook outlines a number of groups that are considered high risk and should not be in the same household as a positive or close contact case.

These include anyone above the age of 60, people with chronic diseases or disabilities and people staying at long-term care centres.

Do not leave home – even to buy essentials

Close contacts should refrain from going out and meeting others when they are quarantining.

They should order essentials through home delivery or ask someone else to do the shopping for them. Once the items are delivered, they should sanitise them before use.

Wait until after quarantine to get the vaccine  

Dr Al Awadhi said close contacts should get vaccinated only after completing the quarantine period of 10 days, provided they have not developed any symptoms or fever during the last three days.

They should also postpone appointments and procedures until after quarantine, unless it is an emergency medical appointment.

For more details, read the authority's Close Contacts: Quarantine and Precautionary Guidelines.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

 

If you go

The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road. 

The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
 

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'Young girls thinking of big ideas'

Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.

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South Africa 361

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Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent

Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent

Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent

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Ibrahim's play list

Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute

Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc

Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach

Also enjoys listening to Mozart

Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz

Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica 

Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil

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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio

Date of birth: April 18, 1998

Playing position: Winger

Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda