Health Dept Revises COVID-19 Quarantining, Tracing Protocols

The Health Department is stopping contact tracing and quarantining of COVID-19 contacts.

It will still do tracing in congregate or cluster outbreak settings.

The department accepted a recommendation from the Ministerial Advisory Committee.

It advised the proportion of people with immunity is high, and containment strategies are no longer viable.

Those who have come in contact with the virus or who develop symptoms should be tested.

The isolation period of 10 days remains for those infected, but a negative test will not be required to return to work.

Meanwhile, eligible South Africans can get a third COVID-19 booster shot from Friday.

The Health Department has approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a booster shot.

It says single dose J&J boosters should be administered at least 2 months after the first vaccination.

Pfizer booster shots can be only be given 6 months after the first shot.

Those boosters will be available from 28 December.

Over 21,000 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in South Africa in the last 24 hours.