The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is finalizing plans to shorten the advised duration of quarantine for individuals exposed to COVID-19. The CDC currently recommends people to quarantine for 14 days following exposure to people with the novel coronavirus.
Quarantine Period Shortened Between 7 to 10 Days
The World Health Organization (WHO) has the same advisory of 14 days. However, the CDC's recommendation may soon be altered.
According to Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, on Tuesday, health officials were reevaluating the CDC's advisory, citing "a preponderance of evidence that a shorter quarantine complemented by a test might be able to shorten that quarantine period," reported Fyne Fettle.
Giroir stated, "We are actively working on that type of guidance right now, reviewing the evidence, but we want to make absolutely sure."
There is reportedly evidence that the duration can be reduced if patients are tested for the coronavirus amid their quarantine.
According to a U.S. top health official, "Let me confirm that we are constantly reviewing the evidence and we are starting to have evidence that a shorter quarantine complemented by tests might be able to shorten that quarantine period from 14 days to shorter days," reported Independent.
The new measures would involve a test to ensure an individual quarantining is COVID-19-negative, Henry Walke, a senior CDC official, remarked.
Walk said, "We do think that the work that we've done, and some of the studies we have and the modeling data that we have, shows that we can with testing shorten quarantine. Hopefully, people would be better able to adhere to quarantine if it was, for example, seven to 10 days." reported New York Post.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the new quarantine period would be between seven and ten days and involve a test to prove that an individual no longer has COVID-19.
The cited official stated people could be more likely to adhere to a shorter quarantine period even if it meant some cases could be missed.
CDC reportedly often reviews its guidelines and advisories in the light of new decipherings of the virus and would declare changes when appropriate. The updated approach would include testing.
The said potential change has been in the CDC's consideration for weeks.
According to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield in an October briefing, CDC was considering shortening the quarantine duration by a week.
Redfield remarked researchers were considering whether one could use testing amid the quarantine to determine if the quarantine can be shortened from seven to ten days and that without testing, a percentage of infectious cases could be missed.
Agency officials talk of the exact duration and what type of test to provide an individual to exit quarantine.
A CDC spokesperson confirmed that although the CDC is considering changing its quarantine advisory, no final decisions have been concluded.
