Topline
Unvaccinated Americans no longer need to quarantine after they’re exposed to the coronavirus, and schools don’t need to conduct routine Covid-19 testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, part of a set of looser pandemic guidelines the health agency unveiled that it said were driven by a reduced risk of severe Covid-19.
A substitute teacher speaks with students in a 7th grade path class in Huntington Beach, California, … [+]
Key Facts
The CDC now says anyone who was exposed to Covid-19 should wear a mask for 10 days and get tested after five days, even if they aren’t up to date on coronavirus vaccines—previously, the CDC encouraged unvaccinated people to quarantine at home for five days while vaccinated people could venture outside with a mask for 10 days.
People who test positive for the coronavirus are still encouraged to self-isolate at home for at least five days and then wear a mask in public for another five days.
The CDC also is no longer encouraging institutions like schools to continually test asymptomatic people for the virus, though high-risk settings like long-term care facilities, jails and homeless shelters may still consider mass-testing.
Crucial Quote
“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti said in a statement.
Key Background
The CDC’s guidelines aren’t mandatory, but Thursday’s decision could represent a shifting federal strategy more than two years into the pandemic. The agency noted that some people still face a high risk of severe Covid-19 due to age and underlying health conditions, but vaccines and treatments have cut the risk for many Americans. In recent months, the country has reported more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day, up from 25,000 in March, but deaths have remained relatively stable (in the 7-day period ending Tuesday, 395 Americans died of Covid-19 every day, well below the 2,700 per day reported in February). Meanwhile, 67.3% of Americans are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, though just under half of those people have received booster shots, and antibody testing earlier this year suggested most Americans have contracted the virus at least once.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/08/11/cdc-loosens-covid-guidelines-and-drops-quarantines-after-exposure/