- As a close contact, you must self-isolate at home immediately (quarantine) and observe all the applicable “quarantine rules” (see below). Check whether you can be exempted from quarantine if necessary (see "Exemptions").
- Report to the Public Health Office via gesundheitsamt-infektionsschutz@dresden.de, stating the person who tested positive and with whom there was close contact. Information on accepted file formats and on sending encrypted mails to the municipality can be found at www.dresden.de/kontakt.
- If you have had close contact in your private or professional life with a person who tested positive (source case), who reported you to the Public Health Office as a close contact, you will receive written information. The speed with which the Public Health Office can provide information to close contact persons depends largely on the feedback from the source case and their nomination of contact persons.
- If the source of possible infection has been traced to a community facility such as a school or child-care centre, you will be contacted by the director of that facility. The Public Health Office issues a group quarantine notice to the facility, which in turn serves as proof for your employer.
Exemptions
The following groups of people are exempt from quarantine:
- Persons who have already had a SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by molecular diagnostics (positive PCR test) no more than six months ago and whose quarantine has ended
- Persons who have been fully vaccinated and if the last vaccination was at least 14 days ago
- Persons who have had a PCR-confirmed infection in the past ("recovered persons") and have been vaccinated with one vaccine dose
The prerequisite for this is proof of the vaccination(s) or a previous Covid 19 infection (PCR test result) and a symptom-free state of the contact person. If contact persons who are exempt from the quarantine obligation develop symptoms typical of Covid 19, they must go into quarantine and arrange for prompt testing.
Exemption from quarantine does not have to be applied for. Nevertheless, persons are obliged to provide proof to the Public Health Office. The quarantine exemption does not apply if the source case is infected with a variant of the virus of concern (other than the British variant B.1.1.7).
The above criteria only affect the quarantine requirement. AHA+L rules must still be followed and submission of a negative test (where required) is also still required.
Send the required proof to gesundheitsamt-infektionsschutz@dresden.de. For guidance on accepted file formats and how to send encrypted mail to the Municipality, please visit www.dresden.de/kontakt.
Quarantine
The required period of quarantine ends without further consultation with the Public Health Office:
- for contacts without symptoms of infection: 14 days after the last contact with a person who has tested positive
- for contacts with an infected person in their own household: 14 days after the start of infection of the infected person, insofar as you do not become ill yourself
- for contacts who become ill during the period of quarantine: 14 days after the start of infection, provided you have then been free of symptoms for 48 hours
- for contact persons who have been informed by the person tested positive by means of a rapid test that a negative PCR test followed as a crossmatch (a quarantine notice will be issued for the days concerned)
It is recommended that a rapid antigen test be carried out twice a week during the quarantine period in order to detect any infection at an early stage. At the end of the quarantine period, testing with a professional rapid antigen test should also be carried out (leaving the home is permitted for this purpose).
Close contacts are entitled to a PCR test. This can be obtained at an appropriate test centre by presenting the letter from the Public Health Office. A separate test certificate can also be requested via e-mail to gesundheitsamt-infektionsschutz@dresden.de.
The quarantine period cannot be shortened. The Public Health Office may order the above testing.
For the duration of the quarantine and one week thereafter, there is an obligation to keep a symptom and contact diary, which can be queried. For one week after the end of the quarantine, contacts should also be reduced.
If you develop symptoms yourself, first contact your general practitioner by phone and inform him/her about your contact with an infected person. Alternatively, you can make use of the central non-emergency on-call service (telephone: 116117).
Loss of earnings
Employees should inform their employer of the period of quarantine; in the case of self-employed persons, the written information from the Public Health Office counts as proof. Both employers and self-employed persons can claim the loss of earnings from the State Directorate for Saxony (Landesdirektion Sachsen) within three months.
