One key distinguishing factor of COVID-19 from other viruses is the five-day quarantine guideline. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon loosen this public health recommendation, but the potential to change the policy wouldn’t apply to nursing homes and hospitals.
If the lifting of the restriction happens, it’ll be the first time since 2021 that the agency has considered easing the restriction. The agency wants to align COVID-19 guidance with guidelines for flu and RSV, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The potential lift in guidance wouldn’t apply to healthcare settings including hospitals and nursing homes, CDC officials told the Post.
Despite the statement, the CDC later said that they had no announcement to make that the guidance was lifted.
“Public health has to be realistic,” Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, told the Post. “In making recommendations to the public today, we have to try to get the most out of what people are willing to do. … You can be absolutely right in the science and yet accomplish nothing because no one will listen to you.”
The agency could recommend that people evaluate their symptoms when deciding whether to isolate for five days, the article said. That is, people with COVID-19 would no longer be advised to stay home if they were fever-free for at least 24 hours without taking medication. Symptoms should also be mild and improving, agency officials told the Post anonymously.
CDC experts told the news outlet that the science around the contagious nature of the virus hasn’t changed. Switching guidance could anger vulnerable groups, officials from the CDC said.
Loosening the guidelines “sweeps this serious illness under the rug,” Lara Jirmanus, MD, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, said in the article. COVID-19 shouldn’t be treated like other respiratory viruses, Jirmanus said. It’s deadlier than the flu and there’s a risk to others due to lingering symptoms, Jirmanus said.
