Now that the Cabinet is relaxing the measures to combat the novel coronavirus step by step, people will go outside more frequently. The chance of the virus spreading again will then increase. To limit a new spread, it is crucial to trace new patients and their contacts quickly and thoroughly. 

Source investigation and contact tracing

Through broader testing of people with symptoms, isolating people who test positive for COVID-19 and tracing their contacts, we can limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the contact study, the GGD Municipal Health Services will track down the people with whom the patient has had contact with during the period that the patient was contagious and had not yet been isolated. This means that all unprotected contacts are traced from two days before the onset of the symptoms until the patient went into isolation. 

Early infectiousness

For some time, there have been indications that people are infectious at the beginning of the disease and during the period that they have symptoms. The advice is therefore to also stay at home if you have mild symptoms. And to keep a distance of 1.5 metres, not to shake hands and to wash hands often. These hygiene recommendations remain essential. 

Now that people start having more contact with others again, the infectiousness of the virus at the beginning of the disease also becomes more important. The most up-to-date scientific insights show that people can indeed transmit the virus even with mild symptoms and at an early stage. Because the first symptoms are sometimes very mild, it is unclear whether people are infectious even before they have symptoms. That is why, from now on, contact tracing will start two days before the first complaints are noticed.