- I am a contact case (vaccinated or not): what should I do?
- Definition: what is a contact case?
- How to monitor the evolution of symptoms?
- Contact case: how to benefit from a work stoppage?
I am a contact case (vaccinated or not): what should I do?
Since February 1, 2023, the screening test protocol has been lifted: no longer need to take a test on D+2 after being in contact with a patient positive for Covid-19. Contact cases were no longer required to observe quarantine since March 21, 2022, regardless of their vaccination status.
Despite these changes, it is still recommended that people with contact cases respect barrier gestures, in particular by wearing a mask in indoor and outdoor places, limit their contact, especially with fragile people and telecommute as far as possible.
Read also:Covid: isolation, screening of contact cases… Here is what will change on February 1
But what if you still want to take a test? Good to know: Covid screening remains covered by Health Insurance.
- Case 1: your test is negative
It is possible that you are in the incubation period (you are infected but have not yet developed symptoms). If it is no longer necessary to isolate yourself in the event of a negative test after having been in contact, you must nevertheless:
- Monitor your temperature and the possible appearance of symptoms (and carry out a test in the event of symptoms);
- Strictly apply barrier measures including wearing a mask indoors and outdoors, as well as teleworking, as far as possible;
- Wear the mask at home, if you share your home with the Covid-19 positive person.
- Case 2: your test is positive
You are infected with Covid-19, therefore you are contagious. Since February 1, it is nevertheless not self-isolation no longer required. “On the other hand, as with any other acute respiratory infection disease, it remains strongly recommended that people who test positive for Covid-19, as well as people who have been exposed to a contagious person and are likely to develop the disease, to avoid contact. with vulnerable people“, recalls the Health Insurance.
Read also:Covid-19: how to treat yourself at home?
Definition: what is a contact case?
On February 1, 2023, the end of “Contact Covid” was recorded: this Health Insurance service allowed the identification of people sick with Covid-19 as well as their contact cases. Thus contacts of sick people will no longer receive SMS from Health Insurance.
“However, infected people are still invited to prevent their contact, as they would with other pathologies and in particular if they have come across fragile people.“, had specified the Minister of Health François Braun.
Contact case: what definition? According to Santé Publique France, you are a contact case if:
- You shared the same place of life than the person infected with the coronavirus: you live (or have lived) together,
- you had a direct face-to-face contact and less than 2 meters away with this person. For example: you talked, you shook hands, you ate together, you spent an evening together…
- You shared a “confined space” with this person. For example: you shared the same car, you work in the same office, you took public transport together…,
- You are a teacher, nurse, dentist… and you have been in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus in a professional context.
Attention ! If you have been in “fleeting contact” with a person who tested positive for Covid-19, the health authorities consider that you are not a contact case. Indeed: the risk appears when the “close contact” has lasted (at least) for 15 minutes. “If you briefly met this person on the street or at the supermarket checkout, you are probably not infected with the coronavirus.“, translates Dr. Berrebi.
How to monitor the evolution of symptoms?
If you have symptoms: take your temperature twice a day. In case of fever or headache, take paracetamol: 1 gram, 3 times a day maximum (3 grams per day in total). Do not take ibuprofen or any other anti-inflammatory. If in doubt about a medicine, contact your doctor. If you have difficulty breathing, immediately call 15 (or 114 for people who are deaf or hard of hearing).
If you have no symptoms: during isolation, take your temperature twice a day and watch for any of these signs: fever (or feeling feverish), chills, cough, sore throat, nose runny, difficulty breathing or a feeling of tightness in the chest, unexplained severe tiredness, unexplained muscle aches, unusual headaches, loss of sense of smell, loss of taste for food, diarrhea. If in doubt, contact your doctor.
Contact case: how to benefit from a work stoppage?
“Covid” sick leave, i.e. exceptional work stoppages issued to positive people without a waiting period, also disappeared on February 1, 2023. The rules will now be the same as for a classic sick leave. “In concrete terms, the infected person must contact their doctor if they wish to stop working because they feel too tired or because they are unable to work due to their symptoms and the waiting period. ‘will apply as for any usual stop’, said the Minister of Health.
Thanks to Dr. William Berrebi, gastroenterologist and hepatologist, former intern at the Hospitals of Paris, author of the podcast Thank you Doctor ! and of Viruses-animals-humans: (very) dangerous links – From AIDS to Covid-19.
Sources:
- What to do if you test positive for Covid-19?Ameli, February 16, 2023
