Here's What to Look for Now. The CDCs updated testing guidance continues to recommend that persons with a known or suspected exposure to someone with COVID-19 should get tested at least five full days after their last exposure, and those who experience symptoms should promptly seek testing through point-of-care and at-home tests. K-12 schools or ECE programs may choose to implement universal indoor mask use to meet the needs of the families they serve, which could include people at risk for getting very sick with COVID-19. As BA.2 cases continue their dominance across the Midwest and U.S., here's a look at the latest symptoms to watch for. The CDC guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps move to . Share. For 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19, watch for fever (100.4F or greater), cough, shortness of breath, or other. Schools and ECE programs may also consider suspending high-risk activities to control a school- or program-associated outbreak. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. FDA now says you'll need to pass 3 home tests, Subscribe to Coronavirus Watch, your free daily update on all things COVID-19, must pass three at-home tests to be sure they don't have COVID-19. Why the CDC changed its COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. Regardless of symptoms, those who test positive are advised to take specific precautions for at least 10 days. So I do think that we are in a different phase right now. According to the CDC, COVID symptoms can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after someone is exposed to the virus. For these individuals, the CDC and IDPH recommend you: Those who are close contacts of someone with COVID but are up-to-date on their vaccinations or have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the last 90 days do not need to quarantine, but the CDC does recommend they wear awell-fitting maskaround others for 10 days after their most recent exposure and get tested after at least five days. Strategies that can help reduce transmission during an outbreak include wearing well-fitting masks or respirators, improving ventilation (for example moving school activities outdoors, opening windows and doors, using air filters), screening testing, and case investigation and contact tracing. Alison Fox. A substantial amount of health care utilization occurs in the six months following the acute stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which highlights the potential for COVID-19 to exert an ongoing demand on health care organizations, said lead author Sara Tartof, an epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. Contact your healthcare provider if you have questions. If you are unable to quarantine, you should wear awell-fitting maskfor 10 days when around others at home and in public. More information is available, Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, Infection Control: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19 Community Levels and Associated Prevention Strategies, Considerations for Prioritizing Strategies, Science Brief: Indicators for Monitoring COVID-19 Community Levels and Making Public Health Recommendations, Indicators for Monitoring COVID-19 Community Levels and Implementing Prevention Strategies: Overview and Rationale, Summary of Guidance for Minimizing the Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Persons, Communities, and Health Care Systems United States, August 2022, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations, Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) Programs, Governors Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Programs, Head Start and Child Care American Rescue Plan, upper-room germicidal ultraviolet irradiation systems, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) schools and universities guidance, U.S. Department of Educations Disability Rights, children with disabilities who cannot safely wear a mask, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), people who are at risk for getting very sick with COVID-19, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), CDC COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy, Upper-Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI), Guidance for Schools & Child Care Programs, Ventilation in Schools and Child Care Programs, Homeless Service Sites & Correctional Facilities, COVID-19 Childrens Eagle Book Coloring Storybook, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Updated recommendations for use of masks in school nurse offices to follow those outlined in the, Establish supportive policies and practices that make getting vaccinated easy and convenient, for example. If anything, I think it gives the CDC room to move to strengthen their guidance if necessary. After quarantining for the appropriate amount of time, those who were exposed should continue to watch for symptoms until at least 10 days after their exposure. If you develop symptoms,get testedimmediately and isolate until you receive your test results. However, the CDC now only recommends screening or surveillance testing programs in high risk congregate settings. 1 ` . If you have any questions or would like more information on the issues discussed in this LawFlash, please contact any of the following Morgan Lewis lawyers: Copyright 2023 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. If you test negative, you can leave your home, but continue to wear awell-fitting maskwhen around others at home and in public until 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19. Avoid people who haveweakened immune systemsorare more likely to get very sickfrom COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days. To that end, we maintain aresource centerwith access to tools and perspectives on timely topics driven by current events such as the global public health crisis, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical dynamics. When the COVID-19 Community Level moves to a lower category or after resolution of an outbreak, schools and ECE programs can consider removing prevention strategies one at a time, followed by close monitoring of COVID-19 transmission within the school or ECE and the COVID-19 Community Level of their community in the weeks that follow. Schools and ECE programs should clean surfaces at least once a day to reduce the risk of germs spreading by touching surfaces. But if you're having symptoms and they're kind of mild and lingering and you use the [at-home] test and it's negative, we want you to take the precautions and then retest in three to five days. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19 and ordered an easing of preventive measures just three months after the country first acknowledged an outbreak, thecountry's news agencysaid Thursday. At a high COVID-19 Community Level, schools and ECE programs can consider implementing screening testing for high-risk activities such as indoor sports and extracurricular activities. For more information about masks please visit Types of Masks and Respirators. If you test positive, you should isolate for at least 5 days from the date of your positive test (if you do not have symptoms). "And then you need to be out in day six-10 in that mask.". Of the changes the CDC issued Thursday, the quarantine recommendations have made the most waves. www.OSHA.gov While state and local governments and local health authorities can continue to require individuals and businesses to maintain stricter standards than the CDCs recently updated guidance, the changes reflect the CDCs current assessment of COVID-19 risk. Updates to the CDC's guidelines also come as the Food and Drug Administration announced this week the recommendation thatpeople must pass three at-home tests to be sure they don't have COVID-19. Wear awell-fitting maskwhen you need to be around other people. People who have known or suspected exposure to COVID-19 should also wear a well-fitting mask or respirator around others for 10 days from their last exposure, regardless of vaccination status or history of prior infection. Isolation & Exposure If you have COVID-19, you can spread the virus to others. The CDC specifically explained in this updated guidance that [s]creening testing may be most valuable in certain settings where early identification is essential to reducing transmission and mitigating risk for severe disease among populations at high risk. The CDCs examples of such high-risk congregate settings are assisted living facilities, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and settings that involve close quarters and that are isolated from healthcare resources, such as fishing vessels, firefighter camps, or offshore oil platforms. For more insights into the CDC decision to walk back some of its recommendations, the Hub reached out to Dowdy, who, in addition to serving as vice dean for education at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, is also a professor of epidemiology with a joint appointment in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "On Day 6, or later, when they are fever-free for 24 hours and their other symptoms have improved, they can end isolation and wear a mask indoors at home and in public.". Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Published on February 11, 2021. Those who develop symptoms after testing positive must start their calculations over, however, with day 0 then becoming the first day of symptoms. A new study highlights COVID patients' continued need for health care services six months after initial infection. First, you'll need to know the difference between whether you must quarantine or isolate. Additional community-level indicators that might be considered for use in decision-making about COVID-19 prevention are pediatric hospitalizations, results from wastewater surveillance, or other local information. endstream endobj startxref The CDC also dropped a "test-to-stay" recommendation, which said students exposed to COVID-19 could regularly test instead of quarantining at home to keep attending school. Tagged epidemiology, coronavirus, covid-19. The CDC now recommends that individuals who are exposed but do not develop symptoms should wear a mask as soon as they learn they were exposed and should get tested at least five full days after their last exposure. Previously, the CDC recommended a five-day or longer quarantine for anyone exposed to COVID-19 who was not up to date on their vaccines and boosters. I don't think so. Schools and ECE programs may also consider holding some activities outside if feasible when the COVID-19 Community Level is high. On December 27th, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reduced its recommended COVID guidelines for isolation (when you are sick or infected with COVID) and quarantine (following exposure) from ten days to five days, along with providing other critical guidance including the importance of mask wearing to prevent further transmission of the virus. However, CDC recommends that people who have been exposed still take precautions to protect others, such as masking around others for 10 days and getting tested five . The more transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant is still spreading. CONTACT: Karen Landers, M.D., (334) 206-5200. For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. Its a positive sign that advances in vaccines and treatments have significantly lowered the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from the disease, said Dr. Daniel P. McQuillen, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Schools and ECE programs play critical roles in promoting equityin learning and health, particularly for groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19. However, when it comes to BA.2, some symptoms seem to largely mirror a small number of symptoms commonly reported in omicron infections, including cough, fatigue, congestion and runny nose. Accommodations may be necessary for exposed people who cannot wear a mask or have difficulty wearing a well-fitting mask. CDC COVID Guidelines 2022: Symptoms to Watch for, How Long to Quarantine and More Here's a look at the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what to do if you. The rollback, Dowdy says, is "an acknowledgement that we should not be allowing COVID-19 to completely disrupt our society.". People who do not have all of their COVID-19 vaccines must quarantine for at least 5 days. See Caring for Our Children. As a result, employers should continue to monitor any applicable state and local guidance and requirements. For those who test positive for COVID but have no symptoms, day 0 is the day of the positive test. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. If any school or ECE program chooses to continue requiring quarantine, they may also choose to continue TTS. To calculate a quarantine period, the date of your exposure to the person with COVID-19 during their contagious period is day 0. If your test result is negative, you can end isolation, but continue to wear awell-fitting maskaround others at home and in public until day 10.". So how do you calculate your isolation period? If you continue to have fever or your other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, you should wait to end your isolation until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. The CDC made clear that individuals who are immunocompromised or had a moderate or severe COVID illness (evidenced by difficulty breathing or hospitalization) should isolate for 10 days or potentially even longer, based on the advice they receive from healthcare providers. Dont share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils. If you test positive, followisolationrecommendations. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. School and ECE administrators and public health officials can promote equity in learning and health by demonstrating to families, teachers, and staff that comprehensive prevention strategies are in place to keep students, staff, families, and school communities safe and provide supportive environments for in-person learning. Evaluate any screening testing procedures, including testing as a reasonable accommodation, in light of the CDC guidance, as well as the recent. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests. FAQs" section of CDC's quarantine and isolation page . After ending isolation, the CDC recommends individuals continue wearing a mask through day 10, or continue isolating for a full 10 days if masking isn't an option. In schools and ECE settings, which are generally not considered high-risk congregate settings, people who were exposed to COVID-19 should follow recommendations to wear a well-fitting mask and get tested. The CDC continues to say people who test positive should isolate from others for at least five days, regardless of vaccination status. In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, schools and ECE programs should allow flexible, non-punitive, and supportive paid sick leave policies and practices. If you were exposed, when could symptoms start, how long are you contagious, how long should you quarantine for and when is the best time test? Take a rapid antigen or PCR on day 6 or any time symptoms develop. I think that the guidance for people, as far as wearing masks and taking other protective measures, still benchmarks to community transmission levels, which are high in probably half the U.S. population. If you're taking an at-home COVID-19 test and want to be confident you're clear of the virus, you'll need not just one or twobutthreetests with negative resultsover five days. Masks will once again be required for visitors inside all Great Smoky Mountains National Park buildings due to the high transmission of COVID-19, according to the park's website. So many people are testing at home and not reporting positive tests that it's hard to follow case numbers as a reliable indicator. The CDC continues to recommend masking for all individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 or are infected with it. It follows anew study that concludedusing three home COVID tests with 48 hours between tests for those without symptoms delivers a higher degree of accuracy than two tests over three days. The CDC no longer recommends those who have been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for 10 days; instead, they are recommended to mask for 10 days, get tested five days after exposure, and to monitor for symptoms of infection such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. CDC does not provide recommendations for, or against, any manufacturer or product. Although most strategies are recommended to be added or increased at a high COVID-19 Community Level, schools might want to consider adding layers when at medium, such as those in the Considerations for Prioritizing Strategies section below, based on school and community characteristics. We have transmission levels that are as high now as they've been at any point in time in the pandemic except during last winter, yet over the past four months there have been the fewest number of deaths since the start of the pandemic. This CDC guidance is meant to supplementnot replaceany federal, state, tribal, local, or territorial health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools and ECE programs must comply. The CDC previously said if people who are not current on their COVID-19 vaccinations come into close contact with a person who tests positive, they should stay home for at least five days. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. %%EOF Staying home when sick can lower the risk of spreading infectious diseases, including COVID-19, to other people. Watch for ways COVID-19 can make you feel sick. You tested . according to the study published Friday in JAMA Network Open. Screening testing should be done in a way that ensures the ability to maintain confidentiality of results and protect privacy. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect eligible people from getting severely ill with COVID-19.