Quebec reduces COVID-19 isolation period to 5 days for people with 2 doses of vaccine

Quebecers with at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine who test positive for the virus will now only have to isolate for five days. 

The Quebec government made the announcement at a technical briefing Tuesday. Previously, those who tested positive had to remain in isolation for 10 days following the onset of symptoms. 

Children under 12 will also be able to take advantage of the five-day isolation period. 

The new measure only applies to those who are asymptomatic or whose symptoms have improved. These people must also have spent 24 hours without a fever before coming out of isolation. 

For the following five days, these people must wear a mask and keep a distance of two metres from others.

If these conditions cannot be met, the 10-day isolation remains in effect. 

Other provinces — including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick — have also moved to reduce the isolation period to five days. The United States also only requires a five-day isolation.

Apart from people who are positive for COVID-19, only high-risk contacts will have to self-isolate for five days, including the partner of a positive case or those living in the same household as one. The 10-day isolation period still applies to those who are not double vaccinated.

Moderate-risk contacts, meaning those who have been in contact with a positive case for more than 15 minutes without wearing a mask outside their household, do not need to isolate if they have had two doses of a vaccine or are under 12 years of age. They must keep an eye out symptoms for 10 days and wear a mask. 

Last week, the government announced health-care workers in the province with at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will also have their isolation period reduced, but only to seven days. In some cases, health-care staff infected with the virus may still be called into work.

The government also announced the use of PCR tests will now only be available to certain high-risk individuals due to limited global supply.

These groups include health-care workers, hospitalized patients, people experiencing homelessness, Indigenous communities, staff, residents, and caregivers in hospitals, long-term care homes, group homes, shelters and prisons and asymptomatic people in high-risk settings like long-term care homes.

"We have a capacity of about 30,000 tests per day and during last week, for example, we had almost 60,000 tests per day and it's unsustainable," said Marie-France Raynault, senior strategic medical advisor for Quebec Public Health.

Quebecers who do not fall into these categories are being asked to use rapid tests.