Deisolation in the Healthcare Setting Following Recent COVID-19 Infection

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 7; p. 1131
• Main Authors: Baumgart, Samuel W L, McLachlan, Aidan, Kenny, Hayden, McKew, Genevieve, Maddocks, Susan, Chen, Sharon C-A, Kok, Jen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Aerosols; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - transmission; COVID-19 - virology; deisolation; Disease transmission; Drug resistance; Health care; Health facilities; Health Personnel; healthcare; healthcare worker; Herd immunity; Humans; infection control; Infections; Isolation (Hospital care); Loneliness; Management; Masks; Medical personnel; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Pandemics; Particle size; Pathogens; Patient Isolation; Patients; Personal protective equipment; Practice guidelines (Medicine); Qualitative research; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccination; Australia; China; COVID-19; deisolation; SARS-CoV-2; infection control; healthcare worker; healthcare
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16071131

Deisolation of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, presented a substantial challenge for healthcare workers and policy makers, particularly during the early phases of the pandemic. Data to guide deisolation of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients remain limited, and the risk of transmitting and acquiring infection has changed with the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants and population immunity from previous vaccination or infection, or both. This review examines the evidence to guide the deisolation of SARS-CoV-2-infected inpatients within the hospital setting when clinically improving and also of healthcare workers with COVID-19 prior to returning to work. A review was performed using relevant search terms in Medline, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The evidence is reviewed with regards to the nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, the role of testing to guide deisolation, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity. A paradigm and recommendations are proposed to guide deisolation for inpatients and return to work for healthcare workers.