US authorities recommend shorter COVID quarantine, quarantine | Health

New York (AP) — US health officials on Monday reduced the quarantine limit for asymptomatic Americans infected with the coronavirus from 10 to 5 days, when similarly close contacts need to be quarantined. Has been shortened.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance was in line with increasing evidence that people infected with the coronavirus were most infectious two and three days before the onset of symptoms.

This decision was also triggered by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and was driven by Omicron variants.

Early studies suggest that Omicron may cause milder illnesses than previous versions of the coronavirus. However, experts say that the number of people infected is so high that it needs to be quarantined or quarantined, which can compromise the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open. ..

Rochelle Wallensky, director of the CDC, said many Omicron cases are likely to occur in the country.

“Not all of these incidents will be serious. In fact, many will be asymptomatic,” she told The Associated Press on Monday. While chasing science “

Last week, authorities relaxed a rule that previously required healthcare professionals to take a 10-day leave if the test was positive. According to the new recommendation, workers can return to work after 7 days if the test is negative and there are no symptoms. Authorities also said the quarantine period could be five days or shorter in the event of a serious staff shortage.

Currently, the CDC is changing the quarantine and quarantine guidance for the general public to be less stringent.

This change is intended for people who are not experiencing symptoms. People who have symptoms during quarantine or who develop symptoms during quarantine are advised to stay at home.

CDC quarantine and quarantine guidance has confused the general public, and new recommendations “are happening when more people are positive for the first time and looking for guidance,” said the American University Public Health Act. Expert Lindsay Wiley said.

Nevertheless, the guidance remains complicated.

isolation

Quarantine rules are intended for infected people. The same is true for unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated, or boost-immunized people.

They say:

-The clock starts on the day when the test is positive.

-Infected individuals should be quarantined for 5 days instead of the previously recommended 10.

— At the end of the 5 days, if you are asymptomatic, you can return to normal activity, but you should wear a mask wherever you are (at home or around others) for at least another 5 days.

— If symptoms persist after 5 days of quarantine, stay home until you feel better, then always wear a mask and start 5 days.

quarantine

Quarantine rules are intended for people who are in close contact with the infected person but who are not infected themselves.

In the case of quarantine, the clock starts on the day when someone is warned that they may have been exposed to the virus.

Earlier, the CDC stated that people who were not fully vaccinated and had close contact with the infected would need to stay home for at least 10 days.

Currently, the agency says that only those who get booster shots can skip quarantine if they wear the mask for at least 10 days in all settings.

It’s a change. Previously, fully vaccinated individuals (CDC defined as two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine) could be exempt from quarantine.

Currently, the person who gets the first shot instead of the booster is in the same situation as the person who is partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all. You can stop the quarantine after 5 days by wearing the mask in all settings after 5 days.

5 days

Suspend both quarantine and quarantine after 5 days is risky.

Many people get tested when they first feel symptoms, but many Americans get tested for other reasons, such as whether they can visit for family or work. In short, positive test results may not tell you exactly when a person was infected, or clearly indicate when they are most contagious, experts say.

Dr. Aaron Glatt, a New York doctor who is a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said that when people become infected, the risk of infection is significantly reduced after five days, but it does not go away for everyone.

“If you reduce it to five days, the number of infectious people is still small, but quite a few,” he said.

That’s why wearing a mask is an important part of CDC guidance, Walensky says.

Various recommendations

New CDC guidance is not mandatory. This is a recommendation for employers, state and local officials. Last week, the state of New York announced that it would expand the CDC’s guidance for healthcare professionals to include employees with other important jobs facing serious staff shortages.

Other states may try to shorten quarantine and quarantine policies, and the CDC is trying to escape ahead of the shift. Walensky says, “It would be nice to have a unified CDC guidance” that others can use, rather than a jumble of policies.

Given the timing of the surge in cases, the update “will be perceived as responding to pressure from business interests,” Wiley said. However, some experts seemed to be sufficient to slow the spread by shortening the quarantine and quarantine period, so she said she had asked for changes for months.

The CDC move follows last week’s decision by UK authorities to reduce the period of self-quarantine for vaccinated people who tested positive for COVID-19.

The Associated Press’s Department of Health Sciences is supported by the Science Education Department of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.