CDC to shorten COVID-19 quarantine to 10 days, 7 with test
Zeke Miller | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to shorten the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19, as the virus rages across the nation.
According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines, which are set to be released as soon as Tuesday evening, will allow people who have come in contact to someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or 7 days if they receive a negative test result. That’s down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the policy change has been discussed for some time, as scientists have studied the incubation period for the virus. The policy would hasten the return to normal activities by those deemed to be “close contacts” of those infected with the virus, which has infected more than 13.5 million Americans and killed at least 270,000.
While the CDC had said the incubation period for the virus was thought to extend to 14 days, most individuals became infectious and developed symptoms between 4 and 5 days after exposure.
It’s not the first time that the CDC has adjusted its guidance for the novel coronavirus as it adjusted to new research. In July the agency shortened, from 14 days to 10, its advice on how long a person should stay in isolation after they first experience COVID symptoms — provided they’re no longer sick.
The new guidance was presented Tuesday at a White House coronavirus task force meeting for final approval.
—
AP writer Mike Stobbe contributed.
MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Quarantine guidelines updated locally after CDC changes recommendations
The Western News | Updated 4 years, 7 months ago
Louisiana COVID-19 quarantine guidelines relaxed for schools
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 7 months ago

Move to shorten COVID-19 isolation stirs confusion, doubt
The Western News | Updated 3 years, 6 months ago
ARTICLES BY ZEKE MILLER
Biden embraces message of unity on 9/11 anniversary
NEW YORK (AP) — From an urban memorial to a remote field to the heart of of the nation's military might, President Joe Biden on Saturday paid tribute at three hallowed places of grief and remembrance to honor the lives lost two decades ago in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Bush warns of domestic extremism, appeals to 'nation I know'
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Warning that the nation was falling into division and extremism, former President George W. Bush appealed Saturday for a return to the spirit of cooperation that emerged — almost instantaneously — after the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago.
Biden embraces message of unity on 9/11 anniversary
NEW YORK (AP) — From an urban memorial to a remote field to the heart of of the nation's military might, President Joe Biden on Saturday paid tribute at three hallowed places of grief and remembrance to honor the lives lost two decades ago in the 9/11 terror attacks.