Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Monday, the Centers for Disease Control recommended cutting in half the isolation time for people who test positive for COVID-19.
The now well-known 10-day quarantine recommendation has been shrunk to five days of quarantine followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others for those diagnosed with COVID. This guidance applies to all people, regardless of their vaccination status.
“The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society,” CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “CDC’s updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives.”
The existence of symptoms is the key element in the CDC’s new guidance, which has been governed by a desire, both within the CDC and broadly in society, to not return to lockdowns but also not overwhelm hospitals and other essential services.
Omicron, which is highly transmissible but thus far has proven far less deadly than other variants, provided a novel challenge to public health officials.
The Associated Press reported that, if met with the same restrictive isolation measures as before, the outbreak of the Omicron variant could cripple the nation’s hospitals, not by overwhelming them with sick people, but by depriving them of a healthy workforce.
“Not all of those cases are going to be severe,” Walensky told the AP. “In fact many are going to be asymptomatic. We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”
According to a release by the CDC, the change in guidance was also brought about by emerging data that suggests most people transmit COVID 1-to-2 days prior to showing symptoms and 2-to-3 days after.
“Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to [wear a] mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others,” the release reads.
The CDC also changed it guidance for unvaccinated people as well as those who have not received a booster for more than six months. When exposed to COVID, these individuals should quarantine for five days and wear a mask for five more, assuming they remain asymptomatic.
“Alternatively, if a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure,” the release reads.
The CDC said people who have received their booster shot no longer need to quarantine after being exposed to COVID exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days.
Walensky said that booster shots, in conjunction with the use of masks and testing, were the primary tools for combatting COVID at this time.
“Prevention is our best option” she said, “get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather.”