Early discharge criteria clarified

March 6, 2022

Unvaccinated people or those who have only received one COVID-19 vaccine dose are not eligible for early discharge from isolation and home quarantine, the Government clarified today.

 

This is not applicable to household contacts of close contacts undergoing a four-day home quarantine under the StayHomeSafe Scheme.

 

Elaborating on the arrangement, the Government said that people who have not been vaccinated or only had one jab, no matter whether they are patients staying in community isolation facilities (CIFs), pending admission to hospitals or isolation facilities or close contacts under home quarantine, are required to undergo 14 days of medical surveillance at a CIF or at home. They must also fulfil relevant testing requirements before being considered for completion of isolation or home quarantine.

 

Meanwhile, if patients at CIFs and individuals pending admission have received at least two vaccine doses, they may leave the CIF or home on the seventh day provided they have obtained negative rapid antigen test results on both the sixth and seventh days after testing positive.

 

However, if they obtain at least one positive test result during these two days, they may conduct rapid antigen tests on a daily basis and immediately leave after getting negative test results for two successive days.

 

Close contacts who have received at least two vaccine doses follow similar requirements, the Government added.

 

Additionally, close contacts who have had two jabs may go about their daily activities once they satisfy the above criteria and do not have to wait for household members to recover from COVID-19 or complete their quarantine.

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