CDC Backtracks on Recommended COVID Quarantine Time

Evan Vucci / APHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar leaves the White House on Dec. 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Evan Vucci / AP)

By The Associated Press
Published December 1, 2020 at 4:46pm

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to shorten its recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19.

According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines will allow people who have come in contact with someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or 7 days if they receive a negative test result.

That’s down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the policy change has been discussed for some time.

It would hasten the return to normal activities by those deemed to be close contacts of those infected with the virus.

While the CDC had said the incubation period for the virus was thought to extend to 14 days, most individuals became infectious and developed symptoms between 4 and 5 days after exposure.

It’s not the first time the CDC has adjusted its guidance for the coronavirus.

In July the agency shortened, from 14 days to 10, its recommendation on how long a person should stay in isolation after first experiencing COVID-19 symptoms — provided they’re no longer sick.

The new guidance was presented Tuesday at a White House coronavirus task force meeting for final approval.

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