The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement saying that people no longer need to quarantine if they are exposed to someone with COVID-19. This recommendation also holds for people not fully vaccinated. The CDC guidelines state that exposed people now only need to wear masks while indoors for up to 10 days. They also should test for COVID-19 on day 5.
The CDC made these guidelines to help schools who have been suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. People with symptoms of COVID-19 should still get tested, but widespread testing is not necessary in large communities with low infection rates. However, care facilities, prisons, and homeless shelters should still engage in large-scale COVID-19 testing.
CDC Guidelines for Schools
The CDC is no longer recommending a “test-to-stay” policy for schools. Previously, this policy allowed unvaccinated exposed students to abstain from quarantining and remain in schools as long as they received a negative COVID-19 test result.
Schools have removed this “test-to-stay” policy since the CDC is no longer requiring quarantining. However, it is important for school administrators to consider COVID-19 testing requirements if numbers of COVID-19 infections increase.
New Recommendations
Current guidelines cover situations in which there is a greater chance of transmission and circumstances in which people might be at higher risks of infection. Also, the CDC has put less emphasis on social distancing. Instead, people should consider social distancing as a step they could take if they were concerned about contracting COVID-19.
Current guidelines encourage people to evaluate their COVID-19 risk factors and engage in proper protective practices. Nonetheless, people who test positive for COVID-19 should still quarantine for at least 5 days. After day 5, they may become involved in social activities again as long as they are masked or receive two negative test results after 48 hours.
The CDC has released these new recommendations as a way to provide guidance during a less intense phase of the pandemic. This means that they are still offering solutions on how to stop the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus but the guidelines are less strict than they were before.
The pandemic is far from over, but as a society, we are at a place where we can adjust to changing situations without putting life on halt.
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References
Stat (2022, August 11). CDC eases Covid-19 quarantine and testing guidelines as it marks a new phase in pandemic. Retrieved from: https://www.statnews.com/2022/08/11/cdc-eases-covid-19-quarantine-and-testing-guidelines-as-it-marks-a-new-phase-in-pandemic/
