U.S. health agency shortens quarantine guidance following coronavirus
exposure
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[December 03, 2020]
By Manas Mishra and Carl O'Donnell
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday said a shorter quarantine
period of seven days with a negative COVID-19 test and 10 days without a
test would work for individuals showing no symptoms after virus
exposure, providing alternatives to the current 14-day standard.
The CDC said it still recommends a 14-day quarantine period for those
exposed to COVID-19 as the best way to reduce its spread, calling the
shorter options alternatives it hopes will increase compliance.
"Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to
follow critical public health action by reducing the economic hardship
associated with a longer period, especially if they cannot work during
that time,” CDC official Henry Walke told reporters on a conference
call.
People must still watch for symptoms for 14 days, Walke said.
Last week, a top U.S. health official said people might be more likely
to comply with a shorter quarantine period, even if it meant some
infections might be missed.
"I think it's the right move based on epidemiological data and the
difficulty people have in adhering to 14 days," said Amesh Adalja, a
senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
The World Health Organization has recommended a 14-day period for
quarantine.
Studies show that people usually start showing symptoms of the disease
within five days of exposure, but the CDC had earlier said between 40%
and 50% of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic.
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Robert Redfield, director, United States Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, testifies during a U.S. Senate Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing to examine
COVID-19, focusing on an update on the federal response at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 23, 2020. Alex
Edelman/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The CDC updated its definition of what constitutes close contact in
October to include direct physical contact, sharing food utensils,
or exposure of 15 minutes spent six feet (1.83 m)or closer to an
infected person.
The two shorter quarantine period are based on analysis of new
research and data, CDC said.
"Agencies like ours have to have the courage to change when we have
data that says we need to change," CDC director Robert Redfield told
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"Obviously, 14 days of quarantine has an impact on productivity; 14
days of quarantine also has an impact on whether people
quarantined," he said.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra Bengaluru and Carl O' Donnell in New
York, additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Manojna Maddipatla
in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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