Reducing the duration of quarantines could significantly decrease the costs of COVID-19 to the overall economy and to individuals, so Ashcroft et al. However, there is no consensus on how long COVID-19 quarantines should be. These measures have crippled travel, taken a large economic toll, and affected the wellbeing of those needing to self-isolate. The COVID-19 pandemic has led many countries to impose quarantines, ensuring that people who may have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus or who return from abroad are isolated for a specific period to prevent the spread of the disease. The findings apply to both travellers and contacts, but the specifics depend on the context. We show that there are quarantine strategies based on a test-and-release protocol that, from an epidemiological viewpoint, perform almost as well as a 10-day quarantine, but with fewer person-days spent in quarantine. We also consider the roles of testing followed by release if negative (test-and-release), reinforced hygiene, adherence, and symptoms in calculating quarantine efficacy. We use empirically determined distributions of incubation period, infectivity, and generation time to quantify how the duration of quarantine affects onward transmission from traced contacts of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and from returning travellers. There is ongoing debate about the appropriate duration of quarantine, particularly since the fraction of individuals who eventually test positive is perceived as being low. The large number of individuals placed into quarantine because of possible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) exposure has high societal and economic costs.
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