CDC Streamlines COVID Guidelines, Dropping Quarantine, Other Recommendations

August 11, 2022 by Dan McCue
CDC Streamlines COVID Guidelines, Dropping Quarantine, Other Recommendations
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo)

ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping its recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person.

Instead it is urging those who know they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 but not sick themselves to wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested after five.

The nation’s top public health agency also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.

The guidelines around masking — which recommend that people wear masks indoors in places where community COVID-19 levels are high — have not changed.

The changes are a recognition that the vast majority of Americans — by some accounts upwards of 95% — have either been vaccinated or acquired some level of immunity from being infected.

“We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools — like vaccination, boosters and treatments — to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,” said Dr. Greta Massetti, the author of the guidelines. 

“We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation,” she said. “This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.”

The CDC recommends that those who do test positive for COVID-19 stay home for at least five days and isolate from others while in one’s house. 

“You are likely most infectious during these first five days. Wear a high-quality mask when you must be around others at home and in public,” the guidance says. “If after five days you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and your symptoms are improving, or you never had symptoms, you may end isolation after day five.

“Regardless of when you end isolation, avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 until at least day 11,” it added.

Masks continue to be recommended only in areas where community transmission is deemed high, or if a person is considered at high risk of severe illness.

The average numbers of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths have been relatively flat this summer, at around 100,000 cases a day and 300-400 deaths.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue

A+
a-
  • CDC
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • COVID guidelines
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Health

    April 25, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Kennedy Unveils Plan to Expand Access to Sickle Cell Treatment

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used a morning keynote address before a group of state lawmakers... Read More

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used a morning keynote address before a group of state lawmakers in Charleston, South Carolina, to unveil a new initiative intended to expand access to the latest treatments for sickle cell disease. Kennedy offered few details in... Read More

    Whooping Cough Cases Rising Again in the US

    Whooping cough cases are rising, and doctors are bracing for yet another tough year. There have been 8,485 cases reported in... Read More

    Whooping cough cases are rising, and doctors are bracing for yet another tough year. There have been 8,485 cases reported in 2025, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s twice as many cases as this time last year, based on the... Read More

    Bluebells and Other Spring Flowers Can Be Nature's Antidote to Stressful Times

    HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under... Read More

    HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech leaves of the Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of color that draws crowds from around the world. And in these times full of stress... Read More

    EPA Chief Demands That Mexico Stop Tijuana Sewage From Flowing Into California

    SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Mexico must stop the flow of billions of... Read More

    SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Mexico must stop the flow of billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana that has polluted the Pacific Ocean off neighboring Southern California, closing beaches and sickening Navy SEALs who train... Read More

    April 22, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Dyes in Foods

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it plans to end the use of petroleum-based synthetic food... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it plans to end the use of petroleum-based synthetic food dyes in America’s food supply within the next two years in a bid to combat a myriad of health concerns, especially among children. The policy was... Read More

    Advanced Cancers Returned to Prepandemic Levels, According to Report

    Many Americans were forced to postpone cancer screenings — colonoscopies, mammograms and lung scans — for several months in 2020 as COVID-19... Read More

    Many Americans were forced to postpone cancer screenings — colonoscopies, mammograms and lung scans — for several months in 2020 as COVID-19 overwhelmed doctors and hospitals. But that delay in screening isn't making a huge impact on cancer statistics, at least none that can be seen yet by... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top