EU warns against shorter Covid-19 quarantine period

BRUSSELS • The European Union (EU) is warning governments not to shorten the 14-day quarantine period for Covid-19 patients as some develop the infection even after two weeks, the head of the bloc's health agency said, signalling a new surge in cases in Europe.

Germany, the bloc's largest country, had earlier informed the EU authorities that it planned to shorten the quarantine length, following similar moves by the Netherlands and Norway, according to minutes of a meeting held late last month.

"We are looking to provide some evidence to decision makers on what kind of risks they would take if quarantine was shorter," Dr Andrea Ammon, head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told EU lawmakers on Wednesday.

She cautioned that in 3 per cent to 4 per cent of Covid-19 cases, infections emerge only after 14 days, which is the standard length of the coronavirus quarantine.

Germany decided last week that from next month, people returning from high-risk regions abroad will be quarantined for just five days.

The partial loosening of measures comes as Europe experiences a new surge in infections.

"The virus has not been sleeping over the summer. It did not take a vacation," Dr Ammon told lawmakers.

She said this week's data showed that across Europe, there were 46 cases for every 100,000 people.

"We are almost back to numbers that we have seen in March," she said, referring to the beginning of the peak phase in Europe.

Infections in Europe were around 40 per 100,000 people at the end of March, according to data from the ECDC, and rose to around 70 per 100,000 by the end of April.

The current increase in cases was due in part to more testing.

The new cases concern largely younger people, Dr Ammon said, a new pattern that had resulted in stable hospitalisation numbers, as the illness is more serious for older people who were hit hard in March and April.

But she added that hospitalisations were now growing again, signalling spikes in cases among the elderly.

The data, which concerns the 27 EU countries, Britain, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, varies greatly between states - from two to 176 per 100,000 people, Dr Ammon said, without citing specific countries.

Meanwhile, the British government said it is "anxiously monitoring" increasing hospital admissions in France and Spain, reported the Financial Times, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock concerned that other European countries' outbreaks could herald a more serious Covid-19 situation in Britain.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG