US health officials on Monday reduced the quarantine limit for Americans infected with the coronavirus from 10 days to 5 days, and also shortened the time that close contacts need to be quarantined.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the guidelines are consistent with growing evidence that people infected with the coronavirus are most contagious two days before and three days after symptoms appear.

The decision was also driven by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases driven by variants of omicron.

Early research suggests that omicron may cause milder disease compared to earlier versions of the coronavirus. But experts say the large number of people infected—and therefore having to be isolated or quarantined—threatens the ability of hospitals, airlines, and other companies to maintain operations.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky (Rochelle Walensky) said that the country is about to see a large number of omicron cases.

“Not all of these cases will be serious. In fact, many cases will be asymptomatic,” she told the Associated Press on Monday. “We want to ensure that there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following science.”

Last week, the agency relaxed its previous rule that required health care workers to stop working for 10 days if they tested positive. The new recommendation says that if workers test negative and have no symptoms, they can return to work after 7 days. The agency said that if there is a severe shortage of personnel, the isolation period may be shortened to five days or even less.

Now, the CDC is changing the quarantine and quarantine guidelines for the public to make them less strict.

This change is aimed at people who are not showing symptoms. Encourage people who have symptoms during isolation or who have symptoms during isolation to stay at home.

American University Public Health Law expert Lindsay Wiley said that the CDC’s quarantine and quarantine guidelines confuse the public, and the new recommendations are “made when more people test positive for the first time and seek guidance.”

Nevertheless, the guide is still very complicated.

isolate

The quarantine rules apply to infected people. They are the same for people who have not been vaccinated, partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated, or boosted.

they said:

— The clock starts on the day you test positive.

— Infected people should be quarantined for 5 days instead of the previously recommended 10 days.

-At the end of the five days, if you are asymptomatic, you can resume normal activities, but you must wear a mask anywhere-even if you are at home with others-for at least another five days.

-If you still have symptoms after five days of isolation, please stay at home until you feel better, and then start wearing a mask for five days.

isolate

The quarantine rule applies to people who have been in close contact with an infected person but have not infected themselves.

For quarantine, the clock starts from the day someone is told that they may have been exposed to the virus.

Previously, the CDC has stated that people who have not been fully vaccinated and have close contact with an infected person should stay at home for at least 10 days.

Now, the agency says that only people who have been vaccinated with booster shots can skip isolation if they wear masks for at least 10 days in all environments.

This is a change. Previously, people who were fully vaccinated—as defined by the CDC as receiving two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine—can be exempt from isolation.

Now, people who are vaccinated for the first time but not boosted are in the same situation as people who have been partially or not vaccinated: if they wear masks in all environments for five days, they can stop quarantining after five days.

Five days

The suspension of isolation and isolation after five days is not without risks.

Many people are tested when they first feel symptoms, but many Americans are tested for other reasons, such as to see if they can visit family or work. Experts say this means that a positive test result may not accurately show when a person was infected or clearly state when they are most contagious.

A spokesperson for the American Academy of Infectious Diseases, New York doctor Dr. Aaron Glatt said that when people are infected, the risk of transmission will drop significantly after five days, but not everyone will disappear.

“If it is reduced to five days, there will still be a small but large number of people who are contagious,” he said.

Walensky said this is why wearing a mask is an important part of the CDC guidelines.

Different suggestions

The new CDC guidelines are not mandatory; they are recommendations for employers, state and local officials. Last week, New York State said it would expand CDC’s guidance to healthcare workers to include employees who are engaged in other critical tasks but face severe staff shortages.

Other states may seek to shorten their quarantine and quarantine policies, and the CDC is trying to withdraw before the transition. Varensky said, “Having unified CDC guidance will be very helpful,” and other people can learn from it, not a hodgepodge of policies.

Wiley said that given the timing of the surge in the number of cases, the update “will be seen as a response to pressure from commercial interests.” But she said that some experts have been calling for change for months, because shorter quarantine and quarantine periods seem to be enough to slow the spread.

The CDC’s move came after British officials decided last week to shorten the self-isolation period for vaccinated people who tested positive for COVID-19.