New Guidance for COVID Isolation

At the beginning of this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated recommendations for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. The CDC is making updates to the recommendations now because the U.S. is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19. While it remains a threat, it is considered far less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity and improved tools to prevent and treat the disease. 

When people get sick with a respiratory virus, the updated guidance recommends that they stay home and away from others. For people with COVID-19 and influenza, the recommendations suggest returning to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication.

Once people resume normal activities, they are encouraged to take additional prevention strategies for the next 5 days to curb disease spread, such as taking more steps for cleaner air, enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses. 

There are many people who no longer isolate themselves from others when they have COVID. Therefore, we should continue to use caution. CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen commented, “…we still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness…” As part of the guidance, CDC provides active recommendations on core prevention steps and strategies which include:

• Staying up to date with vaccination  to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. This includes flu, COVID-19, and RSV if eligible.
• Practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Taking steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.

“The bottom line is that when people follow these actionable recommendations to avoid getting sick, and to protect themselves and others if they do get sick, it will help limit the spread of respiratory viruses, and that will mean fewer people who experience severe illness,” National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said. “That includes taking enhanced precautions that can help protect people who are at higher risk for getting seriously ill.”

The updated guidance also includes specific sections with additional considerations for people who are at higher risk [https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/risk-factors/index.html] of severe illness from respiratory viruses, including people who are immunocompromised, people with disabilities, people who are or were recently pregnant, young children, and older adults.

The updated guidance is intended for community settings. There are no changes to respiratory virus guidance for healthcare settings.

It’s always a good idea to check with your employer to see if they have different requirements for returning to work after testing positive for COVID.

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