The CDC is changing its advice on isolation time for those who may have COVID. What to know
The CDC plans to ease its guidance on how long people need to isolate after they test positive for COVID-19, according to reports.
Here’s what to know.
What would change?
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has briefed state health officials on a plan to drop its advice that people isolate for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.
The agency hasn’t posted the information on its website, but Summer Tonizzo in the communications office of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed by email that “NCDHHS is aware that the CDC is considering a change in guidance for isolation related to COVID-19. We will consider how we may our change our guidance in North Carolina if, and when, new guidance for the CDC is finalized.”
The Washington Post said the new guidance would be the same as for people infected with the flu or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
With the flu, the CDC says, people who get a fever should stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever – a temperature of 100 degrees or more – is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine. Because not all people who get the flu run a fever with it, the CDC also says anyone who has suspected or confirmed flu and no fever should stay home four to five days after the onset of symptoms. People with flu are most contagious in the first three days, the agency says.
With the flu, household members who aren’t sick should watch for symptoms but if none appear they don’t need to confine themselves to home.
For RSV, the CDC doesn’t set a number of days that people should isolate to prevent infecting others. It just says, “Stay home when sick.”
Why would the CDC make this change?
The CDC’s guidance on prevention has changed several times since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, reflecting growing understanding of the virus, vaccine and treatment development and acknowledgment of how willing or able the general public is to conform to restrictions.
Present guidance from the CDC is that if you are sick and suspect you have COVID-19, isolate until you have test results. If you test negative, you can end your isolation. If you test positive, stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home. If you must be around others at home or in public, the CDC says, wear a high-quality mask.
Researchers say people with COVID-19 are the most infectious during the first five days.
If you do get COVID-19, vaccinated or not, health officials say to seek emergency care immediately if you develop:
▪ Trouble breathing
▪ Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
▪ New confusion
▪ Inability to wake or stay awake
▪ Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone
How prevalent is COVID-19 now?
In the week before the most recent report, on Feb. 7, 688 people were admitted to hospitals across North Carolina with COVID-19 infections.
N.C. DHHS says, “North Carolina continues to see high levels of flu and COVID-19. Vaccinations are the best way to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death from these infections. Vaccinations are especially important for those at higher risk of severe viral respiratory disease, including people 65 years and older, children younger than 5, pregnant women, those with a weakened immune system and those with certain medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.“
COVID-19 waxes and wanes the same as other viruses, and continues to create new variants, some of which are more contagious than others, the CDC says. The agency reported last year that by the end of 2022, most people in the U.S. aged 16 and older had developed some immunity to COVID-19 as a result of having had the virus or from being vaccinated against it, or both.
If you need a free COVID test
The state has a searchable page that lists places where free home COVID-19 tests can be picked up.
The federal government announced in November that households could get four more free COVID tests by mail. If you haven’t already requested tests since then, you still can at covid.gov. The expiration dates on some previously issued tests have been extended.
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