Covid patients should be quarantined for only five days, according to US experts
Covid patients should be quarantined for only five days, according to US experts
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On Monday, US health officials reduced the time that Americans with the coronavirus must be isolated from 10 to five days, as well as the time that close contacts must be quarantined.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the advice is in line with accumulating data indicating people infected with the coronavirus are most infectious two days before and three days after symptoms appear.

A recent spike of Covid-19 cases, fueled by the omicron form, also influenced the decision.

Early research reveals that omicron causes milder infections than other coronavirus strains. However, experts warn that the sheer number of people who become ill — and hence need to be isolated or quarantined — threatens to suffocate hospitals, airlines, and other industries.

According to the CDC’s Rochelle Walensky, the US is poised to see a surge in omicron cases.

“Not all of those cases will be serious. Many people will be asymptomatic, she told The Associated Press on Monday. “We want to make sure there’s a way to keep civilization running while adhering to science.””

Last week, the agency relaxed guidelines that required health-care workers to take a 10-day leave of absence if they tested positive for the virus. Workers who test negative and don’t have symptoms can return to work after seven days, according to the revised guidelines. In addition, if there are serious staffing shortages, the time spent in isolation could be reduced to five days or even less.

The CDC is now modifying the general public’s isolation and quarantine guidelines to be even more lax.

People who aren’t suffering symptoms will benefit from the modification. People who develop symptoms during isolation or during quarantine should stay at home.

The CDC’s isolation and quarantine guidance has perplexed the public, and the new recommendations come “at a time when more people are testing positive for the first time and seeking direction,” according to Lindsay Wiley, a public health law expert at American University.

Isolation

Infected people are subjected to the isolation regulations. They are the same for persons who have never been vaccinated, who have been partially vaccinated, who have been fully vaccinated, and for those who have been boosted.

According to them,

On the day you test positive, the clock starts ticking.

Instead of the previously advised 10, an infected person should be isolated for five days.

If you have no symptoms after five days, you can resume normal activities, but you must wear a mask for at least five more days, even at home near people.

If symptoms persist after five days of isolation, stay at home until you feel better, then resume your five-day mask-wearing regimen.

Quarantine

The quarantine laws apply to persons who have come into close contact with an infected person but have not been infected.

The clock for quarantine begins the day someone is notified that they may have been exposed to the virus.

People who had not been completely vaccinated and had close contact with an infected person should stay at home for at least 10 days, according to the CDC.

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That’s a departure from the norm. Previously, those who were completely vaccinated — defined by the CDC as two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — were exempt from quarantine.

People who had their initial vaccinations but not boosters are now in the same boat as individuals who have been partially vaccinated or have not been vaccinated at all: they can leave quarantine after five days if they wear masks in all settings for the next five days.

a week

It is not without risk to suspend both isolation and quarantine after five days.

Many people are tested when they first notice symptoms, but many more Americans are tested for other reasons, such as determining whether they can visit relatives or work. According to experts, a positive test result may not disclose precisely when a person became infected or provide a clear picture of when they are most contagious.

After five days, the chance of spreading the infection lowers significantly, but it does not go away for everyone, according to Dr. Aaron Glatt, a New York physician and spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Wearing masks is an important element of the CDC’s advice, according to Walensky.

Various suggestions

The new CDC policy is a suggestion to businesses, state and municipal officials, rather than a mandate. New York state announced last week that it will expand on the CDC’s guidance for health care workers to include people who work in other important sectors with significant staffing shortages.

Other states may seek to abbreviate their isolation and quarantine policies, and the CDC is attempting to anticipate this move. “Rather than a jumble of policies, it would be helpful to have uniform CDC guidelines,” Walensky added.

The update “will be regarded as coming in response to pressure from business interests,” Wiley added, given the timing with soaring case counts. Shorter isolation and quarantine periods looked to be sufficient to curb the spread, she added, and some scientists had been asking for the adjustment for months.

The CDC’s approach comes after UK regulators decided last week to shorten the period of self-isolation for vaccinated people who test positive for Covid-19.