Quebec reduces isolation period to 10 days.
The Health Ministry announced Friday morning that people infected with COVID-19 will now have to self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days.
Quebec said Friday morning that "the development of knowledge on the transmission and duration of contagiousness of COVID-19" made it possible to reduce the period of isolation of infected people.
Thus, people should not self-isolate until 10 days after the first symptoms appear or after the date of the positive test for asymptomatic people.
However, someone who still has symptoms or a fever will need to continue to self-isolate. The national director of public health specifies that it is necessary to wait for the absence of symptoms for 24 hours and fever for 48 hours before ending isolation.
In addition, the isolation reduction only applies to confirmed cases. For example, people who need to self-isolate because they have been in contact with a case will have to stay in isolation for 14 days to watch for symptoms.
Travelers arriving from abroad and subject to mandatory quarantine will likely continue to self-isolate for 14 days.
