It’s time to stop isolation and quarantine measures after a positive corona test. Mass testing is no longer necessary. That’s what medical microbiologist and virologist Jean-Luc Murk of the Tilburg Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) says. “The population has built up enough immunity.”
Now it is still the case that anyone infected with corona must be in isolation for at least 5 days. And anyone who has complaints will remain in quarantine at home until the test result is known. As far as Murk is concerned, we can now let go of those corona measures.
“People are getting corona all the time. Even if they have been vaccinated and have had a booster shot. At the same time, we see that very few of these people end up in hospital. So much immunity has been built up that the coronavirus no longer poses a threat to the entire population,” says Murk.
This is reflected in the corona figures. According to blood bank Sanquin, 98 percent of people have developed antibodies against corona, due to a corona infection, vaccinations or a combination of these. Despite sky-high numbers of positive tests (last week 107,000 in Brabant, 440,000 in the whole of the Netherlands), hospital admissions are only slightly increasing.
–
Moreover, a large part of the corona patients in hospitals are not there because of corona, but because of another condition. That they have corona is a coincidence. According to a spokesperson for the ETZ, this applies to about half of the registered corona patients in the Tilburg hospital. Nationally, three weeks ago, according to the RIVM, it was about a third.
After two corona years, Murk says he is ‘very enthusiastic’ about the built-up immunity among the population. “You cannot say that the omikron variant is ‘a flu’. But because so many people have built up antibodies, it feels that way for most who get corona. This is mainly due to the fact that many people have been vaccinated. As a result, we can now handle the situation very well.”
And so, according to Murk, self-isolation can go overboard: “We can stop that quickly. The current insulation time is already on the short side. People are still contagious when their isolation formally ends.” He continues: “I seriously wonder if we should continue to put energy into this. I think let it happen.”
And the mass testing? “I now think it is a waste of all the effort and money from the government.”
–
However, it is not the case that omikron is completely harmless, emphasizes Murk. “People with vulnerable health and the elderly would do well to get extra boosters if they are offered. As we also know from the flu shot.”
The worst of the corona pandemic is therefore behind us, according to Murk. But that doesn’t mean we’re rid of the coronavirus. According to the doctor-microbiologist and virologist, corona remains among us and we will experience it in waves – in addition to the flu.
Murk: “That way we learn to live with it. But corona will probably no longer have such an impact on us that strict corona measures are necessary for society.”
Although, according to him, this does not apply to healthcare institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes. “Because there are many vulnerable people here, it is wise to wear mouth caps there, for example, and to follow other known measures.”
The cabinet will probably announce further relaxation on Tuesday.
ALSO READ:
More than 100,000 corona infections in a week in Brabant for the first time
Hospitals ask staff to come to work despite corona infection
–
