News: CDC no longer recommends quarantining after exposure to COVID-19

After more than two years, the CDC guidelines concerning exposure to COVID-19 have changed. Previously, individuals were recommended to quarantine after exposure until testing negative. Now that recommendation has been dropped, according to the guidelines issued on August 11 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC instead suggests individuals now wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested on or after day five regardless of their vaccination status, Medpage Today reported.

Case investigation and contact tracing are only recommended in healthcare settings as well as certain high-risk congregate settings. Additionally, the “test to stay” strategy recommended for school students with potential exposure is no longer mentioned in the updated guidelines.

This change comes thanks to the higher levels of vaccine- and infection-caused immunity in the United States, as well as the availability of prevention tools and treatments that have reduced the risk of medically significant COVID-19 illness. “These circumstances now allow public health efforts to minimize the individual and societal health impacts of COVID-19 by focusing on sustainable measures to further reduce medically significant illness as well as to minimize strain on the healthcare system, while reducing barriers to social, educational, and economic activity," Greta Massetti, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, and colleagues wrote.

The revised guidelines were also decided upon in order to limit the social and economic impact of quarantines. The agency did state in a press release, however, that those with COVID-19 or who suspect they have it but are waiting on test results should still isolate from others. Updated recommendations for those who test positive are as follows:

• Stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home. You are typically most infectious during these first five days.
• Wear a high-quality mask when you must be around others at home and in public.
• If after five days you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication and your symptoms are improving, or you never had symptoms, you may end isolation after day five.
• Regardless of when you end isolation, avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 until at least day 11.
• Wear a high-quality mask through day 10.
• If you had moderate illness (if you experienced shortness of breath or had difficulty breathing) or severe illness (you were hospitalized) due to COVID-19 or have a weakened immune system, you need to isolate through day 10.

Editor’s note: To read Medpage Today’s coverage of this update, click here. To read the CDC’s full report, click here. Additional ACDIS coverage of COVID-19 can be found here.