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Definitions of COVID-19 cases and close contacts
Published Updated
Here are the definitions of suspected, probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19, and definition of close contacts.
Here are the definitions of suspected, probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19, and definition of close contacts.
Suspected COVID-19
A person who meets the clinical criteria: acute respiratory tract infection and one or more of the following symptoms; fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of sense of smell/taste, or who is considered by a doctor to have suspected COVID-19.
Probable COVID-19
A person who develops symptom consistent with "suspected COVID-19" (see above).
A probable case should be isolated in the same way as a confirmed case. Household members should be in quarantine until a test result becomes available.
Confirmed COVID-19
A person with coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) confirmed by RT-PCR test or rapid antigen test (rapid immunoassay). See requirements for rapid antigen tests.
- Hurtigtest for påvisning av koronavirus - rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2 (in Norwegian)
Close contacts
You are considered to be a "close contact" if
- you have been in contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 disease less than 48 hours before onset of their first symptoms. If the person who is confirmed to have COVID-19 does not develop symptoms, contact tracing is done from the time of testing.
AND - the contact has been
- less than two metres away for more than 15 minutes OR
- in direct physical contact OR
- in direct contact with secretions.
This does not apply when recommended personal protective equipment is used in the healthcare service.
Anyone who can document that they have had COVID-19 disease using an approved method (PCR or rapid antigen test) during the last six months, are exempt from quarantine duty.
The most exposed close contacts are "household members and equivalent close contacts". This usually means those who:
- Live in the same household.
- Have had similar close physical contact as in a household (for example, boyfriend/girlfriend, colleagues who sit near each other in an open plan office).
- Have cared for a person with confirmed COVID-19 disease or had similar close physical contact, without having used recommended protective equipment.
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Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that is causing the outbreak of COVID-19 disease.
The virus is related to another coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003 but is not the same virus.