Drosten, of the Charité in Berlin, suggested shortening the quarantine period for people suspected of having Covid-19 on his NDR podcast, the
Coronavirus Update, which has returned after a summer break.
Currently people have to isolate at home for 14 days if there's a risk they could have the infection. But Drosten said research shows that people are no longer infectious after five days.
"There's already, let's say, a steep thesis, that after five days we say the infectious period is actually over," said Drosten.
He said authorities needed to consider how long quarantine periods should last so that they don't turn into lockdowns.
"What can you do in reality so that you don't have a de facto lockdown?" he said. "It's no use having all kinds of school classes, all kinds of workplaces under weeks of quarantine."