(Atlantic) The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines last week.
One of the changes involved isolation recommendations for symptomatic persons. Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen says feverless guidelines have been dropped from 72 hours to 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. “It also used to be for just respiratory symptoms, now they’re including all symptoms,” said Olsen. “Not everyone has respiratory symptoms when it comes to COVID.”
Additionally, persons who test positive for COVID-19, but do not have symptoms should isolate for 10-days after the positive test, instead of the 14-days.
The CDC also changed the isolation recommendations for severely advanced immunosuppressed persons who were under the close watch of a health care provider.
“The CDC’s isolation recommendations for how long they would be infectious was expanded to 20-days after the onset of symptoms,” explained Olsen. “Previously, there were no guidelines for individuals who were severely ill with immuno-compromised issues.”
Another change is re-exposure recommendations for persons previously infected with the virus. Retesting is not recommended within three months after the date of the onset of symptoms for the initial COVID-19 infection. Quarantine is not recommended in the event of close contact with an infected person during the three month time period, as long as the previously diagnosed person remains asymptomatic.
