Instruc­tions for quar­an­tine and iso­la­tion for per­sons who have been exposed to or who have COVID-19

Quar­an­tine instruc­tions for per­sons who have been exposed to COVID-19

The health sta­tus of close con­tacts is mon­i­tored, and the need of home quar­an­tine is assessed. Home quar­an­tine means restrict­ing the free­dom of move­ment of a healthy per­son. The physi­cian in charge of com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases in the munic­i­pal­i­ty or hos­pi­tal dis­trict may order a per­son into quar­an­tine if the per­son has con­tract­ed a gen­er­al­ly haz­ardous dis­ease or a dis­ease that is jus­ti­fi­ably sus­pect­ed to be gen­er­al­ly haz­ardous or if it is jus­ti­fi­able to sus­pect the per­son has con­tract­ed such a dis­ease, Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act (1227/2016).

Quar­an­tine means being at home and the aim is to try to pre­vent fur­ther infec­tions if the per­son in quar­an­tine should con­tract the coro­n­avirus infec­tion. The per­son who is in quar­an­tine should stay at home, but the fam­i­ly can oth­er­wise con­tin­ue to live a nor­mal life if the per­son who is in quar­an­tine has no symp­toms. Being at home means avoid­ing social con­tacts and trav­el­ling. The fam­i­ly mem­bers are not in quar­an­tine because they have not been in close con­tact with a per­son who has con­tract­ed the coro­n­avirus dis­ease. The sit­u­a­tion changes if the per­son who has been exposed to the virus becomes ill. If the per­son who is in quar­an­tine begins to have symp­toms, it is rec­om­mend­ed that the rest of the fam­i­ly avoids unnec­es­sary social con­tacts until the per­son who is in quar­an­tine has received the results from a coro­n­avirus test. 

If the exposed per­son has per­sons who belong to an at-risk group in their close cir­cle (per­sons over the age of 70 or per­sons who are in an at-risk group because of their ill­ness or treat­ment), close con­tact should also be min­i­mized at home and it should assessed whether or not it is pos­si­ble to arrange home quarantine.

The exposed per­son is inter­viewed about the health sta­tus by phone dai­ly. The health care per­son­nel must be able to con­tact the exposed person.

The health of a per­son who has been exposed to the coro­n­avirus is fol­lowed via the appli­ca­tion Bud­dy­Health­Care or by phone dur­ing quar­an­tine. The health care per­son­nel must be able to con­tact the per­son who has been exposed.

If there are changes in the health, the changes must be report­ed by phone dur­ing the first two days to the infec­tious dis­eases nurse (phone 040 804 2781) or direct­ly to the coro­n­avirus helpline (phone 06 828 7499). At oth­er times, changes in health must be report­ed via the appli­ca­tion BuddyHealthCare.

Sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease com­pen­sates for the loss of income dur­ing quarantine

Kela can pay sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease if an employ­ee has been ordered to be absent from work because of an infec­tious dis­ease such as the coro­n­avirus, in order to pre­vent it from spread­ing. A guardian of a child under 16 years of age has the right to sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease if the child has been ordered to be in quar­an­tine and the guardian is, as a result, unable to go to work.

The sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease does not include a wait­ing peri­od: it is a full com­pen­sa­tion for the loss of income suf­fered because of absence from work, iso­la­tion or quar­an­tine. The amount of the allowance is based on the salary the employ­ee would have been paid had the employ­ee been at work. An entrepreneur’s dai­ly allowance is based on the YEL or MYEL year­ly income at the time when the absence from work began (YEL = Self-Employed Per­sons’ Pen­sions Act; MYEL = Farm­ers’ Pen­sions Act).

In order to pay sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease, Kela needs the deci­sion by the physi­cian in charge of com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases in the munic­i­pal­i­ty or hos­pi­tal dis­trict about absence from work, iso­la­tion or quarantine.

Iso­la­tion of a per­son who has become ill and care of the per­son in the home 

The coro­n­avirus (COVID-19) has been clas­si­fied as a gen­er­al­ly haz­ardous com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­ease. Accord­ing to the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act (1227/2016), the physi­cian in charge of com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases in the munic­i­pal­i­ty or hos­pi­tal dis­trict may order a per­son into iso­la­tion if the per­son has con­tract­ed a gen­er­al­ly haz­ardous com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­ease or a dis­ease that is jus­ti­fi­ably sus­pect­ed to be gen­er­al­ly haz­ardous. A deci­sion about iso­la­tion is made in accor­dance with the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act (1227/2016). If it is not cer­tain that a patient who is at home, or some­where else, is fol­low­ing the instruc­tions s/he has been giv­en, s/he may be ordered into iso­la­tion in an iso­la­tion room in a health care facil­i­ty in accor­dance with the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act (1227/2016).

A patient who is in good con­di­tion can be cared for in the home if a doc­tor assess­es that this is safe when con­sid­er­ing the patient’s pri­ma­ry dis­eases and gen­er­al health sta­tus. All con­tacts out­side the home must be avoid­ed dur­ing home iso­la­tion. The patient must be reach­able at all times. Instruc­tions from a doc­tor or the infec­tion pre­ven­tion unit must be fol­lowed when the patient is cared for at home.

If the health wors­ens, call the com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases nurse imme­di­ate­ly (phone 040 804 2781). Dur­ing hours when the com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases nurse can­not be reached, con­tact the com­mon emer­gency clin­ic (phone 06 826 4500) or call 112. Dur­ing the call, you should men­tion that you have the coro­n­avirus dis­ease and that you are in iso­la­tion because of it. In order to pre­vent the dis­ease from spread­ing, a taxi should not be used (use your own car or an ambu­lance). If the per­son who has become ill has per­sons who belong to an at-risk group (over 70 years of age, and per­sons who are in an at-risk group because of their ill­ness or treat­ment), close con­tact should also be min­i­mized in the home (being and sleep­ing in dif­fer­ent rooms etc.) to reduce the risk of contagion.

More infor­ma­tion on THL’s web­site.

Sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease com­pen­sates for the loss of income dur­ing isolation

Kela can pay sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease if an employ­ee has been ordered to be absent from work because of an infec­tious dis­ease such as the coro­n­avirus, in order to pre­vent it from spread­ing. A guardian of a child under 16 years of age has the right to sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease if the child has been ordered to be in iso­la­tion and the guardian is, as a result, unable to go to work.

The sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease does not include a wait­ing peri­od: it is a full com­pen­sa­tion for the loss of income suf­fered because of absence from work, iso­la­tion or quar­an­tine. The amount of the allowance is based on the salary the employ­ee would have been paid had s/he been at work. An entrepreneur’s dai­ly allowance is based on his/her YEL or MYEL year­ly income at the time when the absence from work began (YEL = Self-Employed Per­sons’ Pen­sions Act; MYEL = Farm­ers’ Pen­sions Act).

In order to pay sick­ness allowance on account of an infec­tious dis­ease, Kela needs the deci­sion by the physi­cian in charge of com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases in the munic­i­pal­i­ty or hos­pi­tal dis­trict about absence from work, iso­la­tion or quarantine.