Americans with Covid or other respiratory infections do not need to self-isolate for five days before returning to work or school, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, a striking sign of a shift in attitudes toward the coronavirus.
People with respiratory illnesses can resume their daily activities if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the help of medication and if their symptoms improve, agency officials said.
Recognizing that people can be contagious even without symptoms, the CDC urged those ending isolation to limit close contact with others, wear well-fitting masks, improve indoor air quality and practice good hygiene, such as washing hands and cover coughs and sneezes.
The guidelines apply to Covid, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, among other respiratory diseases, which will make it easier for people to comply, Dr. Maddie Cohen, director of the CDC, told reporters on Friday.
“Our aim here is to continue to protect those at risk of serious illness, while also reassuring people that these recommendations are simple, clear, understandable and can be followed,” he said.
Dr Cohen noted the sharp declines in the number of Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths this winter compared to those in previous years, and said the vast majority of hospitalizations had occurred among Americans who did not receive the latest vaccines.
Vaccination also reduces the chances of long-term Covid, he added.
The CDC last changed its isolation policy for people with Covid during the Omicron wave two years ago, when record infections brought the country to a standstill. The isolation period was reduced to five days from 10.
The agency is unifying the recommendation for respiratory illnesses because symptoms are often difficult to distinguish, the viruses spread in the same way and can be prevented with similar strategies, said Dr. Brendan Jackson, who leads the agency’s respiratory virus response team. .
Some outside experts applauded this change. “I think it makes a lot of sense, because people don’t get tested,” said Dr. Celine Gunter, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center and public health editor at KFF Health News.
“If you don’t know which virus you have, how are you supposed to follow the correct guidelines for Covid vs. Flu vs. RSV vs. the Common Cold?” he said.
Even as the agency considered the change, some experts expressed concern that it could lead the public to believe that Covid is no longer a threat. They also worried that without recommending self-isolation for five days, employers might pressure workers to return to work before they are well.
Little has been done to improve indoor air quality in most places, and wearing a mask can be socially awkward for many people, Dr. Gunter said.
“That puts the burden back on the individual to do the right thing by public health,” he said. Making masks affordable and providing them in public places and workplaces would help people follow the new guidelines, he added.
Raynard Washington, director of public health for Mecklenburg County, NC, said it’s important that officials continue to emphasize that Covid still poses serious risks to many people.
However, “having a simplified, unified guidance across the respiratory virus portfolio will allow us to do public health on the ground at the state and federal level, to send a very clear message to people,” he said.
The recommendations are for the general public and do not apply to health care facilities or nursing homes.
Dr. Washington urged Americans to always consider that there may be people around them who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus.
“It’s not like people have on a sign that says, ‘I’m immunocompromised,'” he said.
