The number of people caught in the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is increasing in Turkey as well as all over the world. However, it is wondered if there is a change in the rules regarding PCR testing, quarantine, drug use and contact status.
After yesterday’s meeting of the Ministry of Health’s Coronavirus Scientific Committee, the quarantine period for those whose coronavirus tests were positive was reduced from 14 days to 7 days.
In a statement after the meeting, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said, “As expected, the Omicron variant has caused a significant increase in cases. The increase in the number of cases has not yet been reflected in hospitals at a similar rate. There is not enough data to say that the Omicron variant makes patients less sick compared to other variants, but the current signs cause concern. It doesn’t cause it,” he said.
https://twitter.com/drfahrettinkoca/status/1478782042536034307
‘There is a very common risk of transmission, especially in the first two days’
BBC TurkishSpeaking to . Dr. Pınar Okyay states that people who go to the doctor with an upper respiratory tract disease in Turkey these days are divided into two groups: Omicron and Influenza.
prof. Okyay says, “Omicron transmits more intensively in the early period. It is very important not to contact other people until the test results come, there is a very common risk of transmission, especially in the first two days.”
What should those who show symptoms do?
In Turkey, people with symptoms can have a free PCR test, as in the past.
prof. Okyay says that the patient should isolate himself until the results of the PCR test come.
The old procedure continues, as it is not known whether people who test positive for Covid-19 have the Omicron variant.
According to the Ministry of Health, the quarantine period is 7 days, and after the 7th day, the quarantine period ends for people who show mild or no symptoms. If the person with a positive coronovirus test takes the test on the 5th day and the result is negative, the quarantine period ends.
Filiation teams, on the other hand, now reach patients by phone and ask if they want to use drugs, rather than home visits.
Speaking about the disruptions in filiation studies, Okyay says, “Information is coming in this direction. Everyone is very tired in filiation studies. Now patients are called more often by phone.”
He points out that there is no new regulation made with the Omicron variant in drug use: “Favipiravir is still being distributed, but many experts have expressed their opinion about not using them. Most people do simple symptomatic treatment, such as taking paracetamol and zinc. There is no specific treatment for this disease unless it is very severe. “.
Contacted people have the test on the 5th day
According to the rules set by the Ministry of Health, “people with Covid-19 contacts who have received the reminder dose vaccination or have had the disease in the last 3 months are not quarantined”.
These people continue their daily lives with the use of masks by monitoring symptoms. HES codes are not seen as risky.
If the contact person is unvaccinated or 3 months have passed since the reminder dose vaccination, they are quarantined for 7 days.
His symptom follow-up continues and he needs to be tested on the 5th day.
People with a negative result can end the quarantine early.
In the case of not having a PCR test, HES codes become risky during the quarantine.
When determining the contact person, the people who are interviewed within 48 hours before the onset of symptoms and 48 hours before the sample is taken for PCR testing in asymptomatic cases are taken into consideration.
‘There are people who hesitate to have PCR’
prof. Okyay states that some people do not have a PCR test because the Omicron variant is mostly seen in the upper respiratory tract and can be overcome with mild symptoms:
“People don’t want to have PCR to get on with their lives, not be left behind from work, or just because the procedure is uncomfortable. However, there is no shortage of PCR in the system. People who show symptoms can still go and get tested in hospitals for free.”
However, it is also stated that if the Omicron cases reach the numbers in countries such as the UK, France and the USA, the PCR test application may not be sustainable.
Omicron may become dominant variant in Turkey as well
On December 31, 2021, the Ministry of Health announced that the new variant has also spread in the country, under the title “Explanation on the Last 10-Day Course of the Omicron Variant Becoming Dominant in Turkey”:
“I would like to inform you about the omicron variant, which has become increasingly common in our country. As you follow, there has been a significant increase in the number of daily cases in the last week in our country. This increase is an expected development. The Omicron variant is transmitted much faster than previous variants and is rapidly becoming dominant.” .
In the statement, “Although the number of cases has doubled throughout the country in the last 10 days, there has been an increase of 4.6% in hospitalizations. There has been no increase in intensive care and intubation. Among our citizens who passed away in the last 1 month, those over 60 years old are 87.21% of all deaths.” it was said.
However, Prof. Okyay, stating that it is not disclosed whether people who test positive for coronavirus in Turkey have the Omicron variant, says, “We can only say that they have had a general Covid-19 infection.” He adds that Turkey’s genetic testing capacity is limited, so it is not known how many of the new cases are Omicron, and that the Ministry of Health should provide data on this issue.
If it is determined that the Omicron variant has reached 90 percent in Turkey and has become the dominant variant, then there may be a change in the measures taken.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared a weekly map of the total number of new Covid-19 cases among 100 thousand people on Twitter on January 5, no information was given about the ratio of the Omicron variant to the number of cases.
https://twitter.com/drfahrettinkoca/status/1478771033255653377
‘The concept of fully vaccinated will change’
Along with Omicron, winter conditions and the increase in the time spent indoors are also effective in the increase in the number of cases.
Ministry of Health Coronavirus Scientific Committee Member and İzmir Katip Çelebi University Faculty of Medicine Infectious Diseases Lecturer Prof. Dr. Alper Şener also warned in a statement he made on his Twitter account recently:
https://twitter.com/dralpersener/status/1477344604152336389
The Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases also drew attention to the importance of the vaccine by saying, “The Omicron variant is a variant that is both more infectious and less affected by antibodies compared to previous variants. Studies show that the application of reminder doses significantly increases the protection.”
‘Reinforcement doses should be made urgently’
prof. Okyay says, “The proportion of people who can be said to be fully vaccinated is in the 60-65 percent band, but some of these people have received two doses of Sinovac. It has been a long time since these vaccines. Therefore, booster doses should be given urgently,” and draws attention to the increasing Covid-19 cases in schools:
“We need to open 5-11 year olds to vaccination. Families are hesitant. Even if we open it today, it will take a month for the vaccination to be protected. The cases will increase a lot during this period. The Biontech vaccine for the 18-year-old group has been approved, we must apply it quickly. There was light at the end of the tunnel, but this winter these measures will be taken. we have to take it”.
prof. Şener told Habertürk yesterday, “Covid-19 infection is one of the upper respiratory tract infections that has the potential to be more severe in childhood diseases.”
Okyay emphasized that the factor of trust is important in the reservation about the vaccine. He said that the Ministry of Health should specify the effect of the vaccine in people who have had the disease in Turkey:
“The ministry has to share its own data. We should be able to say that we saved so many people from death because of the vaccine”.