Could quarantine time be slashed from 14 days to 8?

New mathematical modelling from a medical research institute has led to a re-evaluation of the 14 day quarantine period for travellers, with that time potentially being slashed to 8 days.

The research has been funded by Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation and conducted by the Burnet Institute of medical research.

It suggests that passengers could be divided into threat level categories depending on which country they are arriving from and this, in turn, could allow for increased travel and provide the Australian economy with a $85 billion boost. 

The foundation’s Dr Steve Burnell said, “Universal 14-day quarantine is an outdated, one-size-fits-all approach that is adversely impacting the Australian economy and countless people’s lives. 

“Without meaningfully increasing the risk of COVID-19 importation, such tailored, evidence-based approaches could reduce the cost of quarantine to the taxpayer, mitigate the significant physical and mental health effects of 14-day isolation and deliver up to $85 billion in economic benefits as travel resumes to pre-COVID levels.”  

This modelling, dubbed ‘traQ model’, would see each country of origin assigned to one of five categories. These categories are dependant on the coronavirus rates in each country and range from very high to very low risk. 

Chief executive Professor Brendan Crabb at Burnett Institute said the current 2 week quarantine process has been successful at controlling the virus “but it is a blunt instrument that comes at a high economic and social cost.

“While 14-day quarantine will still be needed for travellers from high risk countries, the traQ model provides a careful, evidenced-based way to reduce the time spent in quarantine for travellers coming from low to moderate risk COVID-19 settings,” he said.

Irit Jackson, 11^th November 2020