So far, the US health authority had advised corona infected people in the US to be isolated for ten days. According to current scientific knowledge, this recommendation is now being renewed.
Washington – The US health authorities are reducing the recommended isolation period after a corona infection from ten to five days.
The reason is scientific evidence that most infections occur early in the course of the disease – usually in the one to two days before the onset of symptoms and in the two to three days after, the CDC announced on Monday (local time). So far, the CDC had recommended isolation for ten days. The authorities understand isolation as the time after a confirmed infection.
Shortening in certain circumstances
The shortening is now recommended when those affected no longer have symptoms and wear a mask for another five days when they are near others. “The Omikron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to affect all facets of our society,” said CDC boss Rochelle Walensky. The new recommendations were intended to ensure that people could safely get on with their daily lives.
The CDC is also adjusting the guidelines for quarantine – they apply to people who have had contact with an infected person. For people who are not or not fully vaccinated against Corona, a quarantine of five instead of ten days may also be recommended. In order to be able to bypass the quarantine completely, it now also plays a role whether those affected have received a booster vaccination.
Recommendations, not regulations
The CDC guidelines are not regulations, but recommendations for employers and state and local authorities.
In the USA, companies recently called for the isolation time to be shortened due to the surge in new corona infections. As a result, the CDC had already reduced the length of isolation for health workers last week. There have been significant flight cancellations in the United States in the past few days. One reason for this was the infections with the new Omikron variant, which is dominant in the USA. Airlines then advertised a shorter isolation period. dpa
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