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CDC to shorten quarantine period for people exposed to COVID-19

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PHOTO CREDITS: JOHN MINCHILLO/AP PHOTO

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is trying to analyze whether the two-week quarantine period could be reduced to as short as seven days, with a negative COVID-19 test, according to the agency.

The agency is looking into shortening the length of quarantine for those who were exposed to COVID-19, by re-evaluating its currently recommended two-week quarantine. The change in the current guidelines by CDC is being well received by some medical experts, who noted that the new guidelines will be easier for Americans to follow.

The current CDC guidelines urge anyone who was in contact with a COVID-19 patient, was subject to a two-week quarantine, even if they tested negative for the virus, to prevent the spread of the virus from asymptomatic patients. The CDC Director Robert Redfield mentioned that the current CDC guidelines, which recommend quarantine for 14 days for those exposed to the virus, was undertaken when diagnostic testing wasn’t readily available as it is today. The shortening of the quarantine period is expected to be involved with increased rapid testing. “It’s data-driven, it’s under evaluation, obviously we don’t want people to be for 14 days unnecessarily,” Redfield said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s incident manager for COVID-19 response, said the agency is finalizing a quarantine period for seven to ten days with a negative COVID-19 test, in the new guidelines. The agency is still assessing the exact length of quarantine and what type of tests to be taken to end it in a proper manner. Dr. Scott Gottleib, the former Food and Drug Commissioner, said “The shorter quarantine period could make it easier for people to follow the CDC’s recommendations since most people were likely shortening the two-week period on their own.”

ARTICLE: LIDIYA SHILU

SCIENCE/HEALTH EDITOR: KYLE SMITH

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