The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut the amount of time it recommends people should isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, reducing the number of days from 10 to five.
Health officials similarly reduced the amount of time one should quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tests positive.
Isolation recommendations are for those who are infected with COVID and start on the day a person tests positive. The agency recommends isolating for five days and going back to normal activities if a person is not showing any symptoms after that period.
Quarantines are defined differently as the term refers to those who are in close contact with someone who tests positive. The CDC previously recommended unvaccinated individuals who come into close contact with someone who tested positive should quarantine for 10 days. The agency previously said those who were vaccinated could skip a quarantine.
The CDC is now recommending those who are vaccinated and received a booster shot can skip quarantining if they wear a face mask for at least 10 days. If a person is vaccinated and has not gotten a booster, or if they are partly vaccinated or not vaccinated at all, the CDC recommends a five-day quarantine, then wearing a mask in public for an additional five days.
A little champagne and a kiss are fine, but Americans should stay away from big parties this New Year’s Eve, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.
Fauci said in an interview on CNN that people should avoid the gatherings where they don’t know the vaccination status of all the guests.