Focus on COVID-19 symptoms, not test, to confirm you’re free from isolation, CDC says
Say goodbye to the two-week coronavirus quarantine period, if you choose to follow the new recommended — but not required — guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Under the new guidelines, most Americans who receive a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result can stop isolating themselves and taking other preventive measures 10 days after their symptoms began, and if their fever has disappeared for at least 24 hours without the use of medications.
For those who never show symptoms, the CDC recommends putting an end to your quarantine 10 days after you receive your positive diagnostic test, or PCR test.
The updates, posted Wednesday to the agency’s website, are based on the “best information available” as of mid-July that “reflect the realities of an evolving pandemic.”
“Accumulating evidence supports ending isolation and precautions for persons with COVID-19 using a symptom-based strategy,” the agency said. “This update incorporates recent evidence to inform the duration of isolation and precautions recommended to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to others, while limiting unnecessary prolonged isolation and unnecessary use of laboratory testing resources.”
In many regions across the country where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, labs cannot keep up with the increased demand for testing. On July 23, the U.S. surpassed 4 million coronavirus cases, more than any other country in the world.
To date, there is no evidence people can become reinfected with COVID-19 — the disease the virus causes — the CDC said, despite a handful of cases where patients received a second positive diagnosis.
That’s because recovered coronavirus patients can still have leftover virus particles in their bodies for up to three months, but in concentrations that are much lower and no longer capable of replicating.
In other words, most people aren’t contagious 10 days after symptom onset, while those experiencing severe COVID-19 or are severely immunocompromised are likely contagious for no longer than 20 days after symptoms first appeared, the CDC said.
What’s more, the agency recommends against the use of a second test to confirm you’re officially free of coronavirus, except for those who see their symptoms have come back after 3 months since getting an initial diagnosis.
Still, the agency said antibody tests should not be used to determine if you have the coronavirus or if you’ve been reinfected by it.
“These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom-based, rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of these patients, so that persons who are by current evidence no longer infectious are not kept unnecessarily isolated and excluded from work or other responsibilities,” the agency said.
The CDC noted that the data used to update their guidelines came from adults, not children or infants, as such data are “not presently available.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Focus on COVID-19 symptoms, not test, to confirm you’re free from isolation, CDC says."
