CDC changes COVID-19’s definition of “close contact” (less than 1 minute)

(Source: Live science) “Close contact” with COVID-19 is usually defined as being close to the infected person for at least 15 consecutive minutes. However, new reports suggest that if their exposure occurs frequently, they are even very ill.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a Vermont corrector who caught COVID-19 after being exposed to an infected prisoner, even though he was not around the infected for more than a minute at a time. Explains about.

According to a report released today in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the exposure is likely to have occurred on July 28 when six prisoners were transferred from an out-of-state facility to a Vermont prison. .. None of the prisoners showed symptoms of COVID-19, but all underwent regular COVID-19 examinations upon arrival. And the next day, all six prisoners received positive results.

After learning the positive results, authorities returned the day before to identify those who had close contact with the prisoners. The team reviewed the video footage and came within 6 feet (1.8 meters) of the prisoner, but one corrector who was not considered close contact because he was not around the infected for 15 consecutive minutes. I found.

Police officers continued to work normally, but on August 4 (one week after the infected prisoner arrived), odor and taste loss, runny nose, cough, shortness of breath, headache, and other COVID-19 symptoms. Onset. The report said. The next day, the officer tested positive for illness.

As a result of this positive test, authorities reconfirmed the video surveillance footage from July 28th. The prison officer had never spent 15 minutes in the immediate vicinity of the infected prisoner, but encountered them many times for a short time. Specifically, during his eight-hour shift, police officers made 22 short encounters with prisoners (between 10 and 60 seconds each) for a total of 17 minutes of cumulative exposure.

Prison officers wore cloth masks and goggles during the encounter, but prisoners were not necessarily masked. Police officers had no other known contact with COVID-19 and had not been out of Vermont for two weeks before becoming ill. In addition, at that time, the incidence of new COVID-19 infections in Vermont was low, and police officers were less likely to become infected with the disease through community expansion.

The findings are “at least one asymptomatic [inmates] Sent SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] During these short encounters, “said the author of the report.

Findings affect contact tracing, which usually defines “close contact” with a person infected with the new coronavirus within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes.

In fact, according to the Washington Post, the CDC updated its definition of close contact after the report was released Wednesday. According to the CDC website, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently defines close contact as “a person who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more in 24 hours.”

Additional factors such as how close an individual is, such as whether the infected person is singing or exercising to generate a large amount of respiratory aerosol, whether the environment is congested or well ventilated, are also considered. There is a possibility. ..

In the current case, “Initial assessment did not suggest that police officers had close contact exposure, but a detailed review of the video footage shows that the cumulative exposure time exceeds 15 minutes. It was confirmed, “the author writes. Correctional facilities require frequent close encounters between prisoners and facility staff, and “public health authorities should consider the impact of cumulative exposure time within such facilities on the risk of infection.” The authors conclude.