Quarantine period may not be that long anymore as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now considering shortening the period from the required 14 days to just between seven and 10 days.

A Wall Street Journal report noted that officials from the CDC are now finalising their recommendations for a new quarantine period, which would reduce the number of days. Along with the quarantine, a test would also be given to ensure that the individual is negative for COVID-19.

A spokesperson of the agency issued a statement to Fox News and said that the CDC is always reviewing its recommendations and guidance. As new data emerges about the virus, it also leads to more understanding. The agency would always announce changes whenever it is deemed appropriate.

Henry Walke, incident manager for coronavirus response of the agency, relayed to Wall Street Journal that the quarantined person would have to take a COVID-19 test before he would be allowed to end his quarantine. The moment that the person is negative, Walke said that the probability of that person developing an infection is rather low. He also said that they believe that the work they have done, and the modelling data that they have, would show that they can shorten quarantines.

Walke also noted that while it could render some infections to be missed, they are hoping that people would just adhere to being quarantined if the number of days is shorter.

The CDC stated in its present guidance that quarantine helps in preventing the spread of the disease. The idea is to keep someone who was possibly exposed to a COVID-19 patient, away from others.

Shorter Quarantine Period Shorter Quarantine Period
CDC considers shortening quarantine period. Photo: Pixabay

Close contact, as defined by the CDC, would mean being within six feet from a COVID-19 patient for a total of 15 minutes or more. Those who take care of a patient at home, as well as having direct physical contact with the patient, would require quarantine measures. One who shared eating or drinking utensils with a COVID-19 patient must also be wary as this also constitutes close contact.

COVID-19