CDC Shortens Its COVID-19 Quarantine Recommendations
- by Joy Garcia
- in Medicine
- — Dec 5, 2020
Both Washington state officials and the CDC recognize that a 14-day quarantine can impose personal burdens that may affect physical and mental health as well as cause economic hardship.
While unusual, there are people who don't exhibit symptoms until two weeks after an exposure.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has assigned Kenya a Level 4 alert, which is their highest risk assessment level for COVID-19.
The no-travel advice echoes recommendations for Thanksgiving but many Americans ignored it. "Deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase", Henry Walke, the CDC incident manager for the coronavirus, said during the news briefing.
In its weekly Morbidity and Mortality report, the CDC warned Friday that the USA has entered "a phase of high-level transmission" as colder weather and the ongoing holiday season push Americans indoors, and said that "consistent and correct" use of face masks is critical to taming the virus.
Quarantine Guidelines for Positive Cases: Individuals with a positive COVID-19 test result will continue with a required 10 day isolation period that begins at the onset of symptoms or date of test (whichever is longer).
Fury Road Immortan Joe Actor Hugh Keays-Byrne Dies — Mad Max
Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, a friend of the late actor, also posted a tribute on Facebook . Mad Max actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, has died aged 73, reports The Independent .
Redfield acknowledged the alarming rate of COVID-19 fatalities by noting that the country is reporting between 1,500 and 2,500 deaths from the novel coronavirus daily.
Smith said the CDC is permitting a negative result from either a molecular (PCR) or antigen rapid test.
"For people who have been monitoring themselves for symptoms daily and have not shown any signs of symptoms or illness, that quarantine can end after 10 days", Smith said.
These shorter quarantine periods should allow affected employees to return to work sooner, although employers are cautioned to follow the directives of employees' healthcare providers as well as paid leave requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Quarantine's importance grew after it was evident that persons are able to transmit SARS-CoV-2 before symptoms develop, and that a substantial portion of infected persons (likely somewhere between 20% to 40%) never develop symptomatic illness but can still transmit the virus.
The KDHE said for questions, residents should contact their local health departments. It also ensures that people who become symptomatic during quarantine can be rapidly be tested. The three-day period from Friday to Sunday was the busiest travel weekend since the weekend of March 14-16.
