CDC Shortens COVID-19 Quarantine Guidelines for General Population: Cuts the number of days of isolation for Americans who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five days regardless of vaccination status.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a reversal of a previous recommendation, cut the number of days of isolation for Americans who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five days regardless of vaccination status.

The agency similarly shortened the time that close contacts of COVID-19 need to quarantine. Authorities with the CDC said that its latest guidance is in line with more and more evidence suggesting that those who contract the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus are the most infectious two days before and three days after symptoms emerge.

Meanwhile, the CDC said that a surge in the Omicron variant across the United States propelled the latest guidance change. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told The Associated Press on Monday that the United States will experience significantly more Omicron cases.

“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact, many are going to be asymptomatic,” she told the newswire service. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”

Since the emergence of the new strain in southern Africa last month, only one Omicron death has been reported so far in the United States. Officials in Texas said a Harris County man apparently died from the variant last week.

According to a recent analysis of U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the hospitalization rate for Omicron appears to be far lower than previous strains.

Around 64,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Christmas Day, or Dec. 25, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That represents an increase of about 3 percent from the week prior, when around 62,000 people were hospitalized on Dec. 18.

However, that’s much lower than peak hospitalizations that were seen during the Delta surge and about half that of the record-high hospitalizations in January 2021. On Sept. 1, some 98,000 people were hospitalized around the United States amid the Delta surge, and at around Jan. 14, more than 133,000 were hospitalized, federal data show.

But Walensky, in a statement published on the CDC’s website on Monday, warned that Omicron “has the potential to impact all facets of our society” and called on people to either get vaccinated or take a booster shot. She also recommended people to wear a mask inside public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.

The CDC last week also loosened its recommendation for healthcare workers to stay out of work for about 10 days if they test positive for the CCP virus. New recommendations suggest that healthcare workers can head back to work after seven days if they produce a negative test result and have no symptoms.

The isolation time, the CDC added, can be shortened to five days if there are staffing shortages at facilities.

Last year, if you got a positive PCR test, you were expected to quarantine for 14 days from when you got the test results back.

However, if you didn’t get tested then you were expected to quarantine for 14 days from when symptoms first showed up, which usually was several days to a week before one could get a test scheduled.

So by going for the test, you put yourself in the position of being quarantined for 3-4 weeks instead of 2.

I decided then that if I go sick, I was not telling anyone nd I most certainly was not going to go for a test.

Amd the new timeline is exactly what is typical for a cold virus. By the time you really feel your worse, the presence of the virus in you mucous membranes has dropped significantly. The symptoms trail the viral replication by several days.

So they admit right here, that by the third day of symptoms, when you are generally feeling the crappiest, you are virtually no longer contagious.

(From the article):"The agency similarly shortened the time that close contacts of COVID-19 need to quarantine.
Authorities with the CDC said that its latest guidance is in line with more and more evidence suggesting that
those who contract the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus are the most infectious two days before and three days after symptoms emerge ."
Meanwhile, the CDC said that a surge in the Omicron variant across the United States propelled the latest guidance change.
According to a recent analysis of U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the hospitalization rate for Omicron appears to be far lower than previous strains.

“ The CDC last week also loosened its recommendation for healthcare workers to stay out of work for about 10 days if they test positive for the CCP virus.
New recommendations suggest that healthcare workers can head back to work after seven days
if they produce a negative test result and have no symptoms.
The isolation time, the CDC added, can be shortened to five days if there are staffing shortages at facilities. “

Thanks Seek and Find for the recent update !

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

BECAUSE IT’S A COLD!! 😰🤧