CDC shortens recommended coronavirus quarantine…
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CDC shortens recommended coronavirus quarantine period to as few as 7 days
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. (CDC via AP)
By Lisa Kashinsky |
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 12:21 p.m. | UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 8:53 p.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the standard 14-day quarantine period after someone is exposed to the coronavirus can now be shortened to as little as seven days.
CDC officials said Wednesday that the quarantine period can be shortened to seven days with a negative test result and no symptoms, or 10 days without a test so long as the person does not show symptoms.
The CDC still recommends a full two weeks of self-quarantine as "the best way to reduce risk," CDC COVID-19 incident manager Dr. Henry Walke said. But officials said the shortened length — determined through "extensive" modeling by the CDC and other agencies — could help boost compliance.
"Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to take this critical public health action by reducing the economic hardship associated with a longer period, especially if they cannot work during that time," Walke said on a press call, adding that it can also "lessen stress on the public health system" in communities where infections are rising.
Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, said the revised recommendations are essentially the CDC acknowledging the effects of "quarantine fatigue."
"They're trying to balance science and sociology," Ellerin said. "If more people abide by the quarantine and we limit it to seven or 10 days based on testing, that's better than the minority of people doing it for 14 days."
The CDC also implored people not to travel for the winter holidays. Those who do are urged to get tested one to three days beforehand and three to five days afterward.
"The safest thing to do is to postpone holiday travel and stay home," Dr. Cindy Friedman of the CDC's travel branch said.
"Travel volume was high over Thanksgiving and even if only a small percentage of those travelers were asymptomatically infected, this can translate into hundreds of thousands of additional infections moving from one community to another," she added.
Even as they offered "alternative" quarantine timelines on Wednesday, the CDC said health officials across the country should make their own decisions on the length of quarantine based on local conditions.
Massachusetts requires people to quarantine for 14 days after being exposed to the virus, or for 10 days if they show no symptoms and test negative at least eight days into quarantine, according to guidance updated Nov. 18.
Currently, travelers to and from Massachusetts from every state but Hawaii must quarantine for 14 days or provide a negative test result from within 72 hours of their arrival.
Lisa Kashinsky
Lisa Kashinsky is a multimedia journalist covering politics and more for The Boston Herald. A graduate of Boston University, she previously covered the Merrimack Valley for The Eagle-Tribune and the South Shore for Wicked Local, winning awards for her work at both newspapers.
Follow Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky
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