On December 2nd, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new quarantine guidance. This revision allows people possibly exposed to COVID-19 to shorten their own quarantine period. The CDC currently recommends a quarantine period of 14 days. However, based on local circumstances and resources, the agency has announced acceptable alternative options that could shorten quarantine times. This release is in addition to “return to work” guidance that the CDC updated in October 2020.
Background on Quarantine Recommendations
The act of quarantine is to separate someone exposed to COVID-19 and may develop illness away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they have the virus.
The original recommendation for a 14-day quarantine came from the estimates of the upper bounds of the COVID-19 incubation period. The importance of quarantine grew after it was evident that persons could transmit COVID-19 before symptoms developed. In fact, according to studies, between 20% to 40% of the infected never developed symptoms but still transmitted the virus. Due to these facts, the CDC believes quarantine is a critical measure to control transmission.
The CDC does recognize, however, that a 14-day quarantine can impose personal burdens that may affect physical and mental health. A 14-day quarantine may also cause economic hardship that may force individuals to not quarantine even when sick and contagious. Implementing quarantines can also pose additional burdens on public health systems and communities. especially when new infections are rising.
New Quarantine Guidelines
According to the CDC, shortening the length of quarantine will reduce the burden on individuals and may increase community compliance. Any option to shorten quarantine, however, runs the risk of being less effective than the currently recommended 14-day quarantine. The following are the CDC’s recommendations when it comes to alternative options to a 14-day quarantine:
- Quarantine can end after Day 10 without COVID-19 testing and if daily monitoring does not show any symptoms. According to the CDC, the residual post-quarantine transmission risk in this situation is anywhere between 1% and 10%.
- Quarantine can end after Day 7 if the individual tests negative and showed no symptoms during quarantine. The individual should take the test within 48 hours before the time of planned quarantine discontinuation. In any event, quarantine should not end earlier than after Day 7. In this situation, the CDC reports that the residual post-quarantine transmission risk is between 5% and 12%.
Employer Takeaways
The CDC has updated their quarantine guidance to help keep individuals safe during the continuing global pandemic. If any workers are ill with, or had possible exposure to COVID-19, employers cannot require an automatic 14-day quarantine. Employers should examine quarantine requirements on a case-by-case basis based off of the recently updated CDC guidance.