Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, informed the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Vice President Mike Pence there would be new guidelines issued by the CDC that will decrease the number of days someone should spend quarantining after exposure to the coronavirus, according to CNN on Dec. 2, 2020.
Officials said the new guidelines recommend individuals who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus should quarantine for seven to ten days, which has decreased from 14 days.
An individual can end their quarantine in seven days with negative test results and 10 days without a test.
The CDC also made a few changes to their meaning of close contacts. The first CDC close contacts definition was being in close contact with an infected person continuously for 15 minutes. The updated version is being six feet or closer to an infected individual for 15 minutes.
Redfield announced at the coronavirus task force meeting that the data-driven decision was reviewed for weeks before the CDC made the changes to the forthcoming coronavirus guidelines.
To decrease the coronavirus spread, the CDC and health experts inform the public regularly how important it is to communicate and follow safety measures to control the virus’s spread across the country.
According to WorldoMeter, there have been 14,167,829 reported coronavirus cases in the United States, and 8,358,890 people recovered with 278,105 deaths.
The CDC wants the public to take steps to stop the spread of the coronavirus. They want people to wear their masks and social distance at least six feet apart when outdoors, and they want people to avoid large gatherings and, last but not least, wash their hands.
Written by Jessica Letcher
Edited Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
CNN: CDC will decrease coronavirus quarantine time from 14 to 7-10 days; by Jeremy Diamond
WorldoMeter: Report coronavirus cases
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Inset Image Courtesy of Barry Dale Gilfry’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
