CDC Updates Guidance on COVID+ Infections

I noted in an earlier post that the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) was considering a significant change to their recommendations for patients who test positive for Covid-19 ("Chicken Soup for COVID?", 2/18/24). Things got busy at work, and I neglected to post a link to the final version of the recommendations, which CDC pushed out on March 1. You can find the press release here and the text of the recommendations here.

The new guidelines fairly drastically reduce the agency's previous quarantine recommendation:

When people get sick with a respiratory virus, the updated guidance recommends that they stay home and away from others. For people with COVID-19 and influenza, treatment is available and can lessen symptoms and lower the risk of severe illness. The recommendations suggest returning to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication.

Once people resume normal activities, they are encouraged to take additional prevention strategies for the next 5 days to curb disease spread, such as taking more steps for cleaner air, enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses. . . .

For all intents and purposes, the CDC recommends the same steps for dealing with COVID as for influenza. The absence of fever for 24 hours, not a negative COVID test, is the key to ending quarantine and returning to a mostly normal life. "Normal" in this case includes limiting close contact with others, wearing well-fitted masks, improving indoor air quality, and practicing good hygiene.