On Dec. 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it allows self-quarantine for those who have had exposure to COVID-19 to be seven to 10 days instead of the traditional 14-day period.
For those who received a negative diagnostic test and have no symptoms, post-exposure quarantine can be as low as seven days. For those without a test, 10 days without symptoms is sufficient for a self-quarantine. In both cases, people who have been exposed are expected to monitor for symptoms throughout the remainder of the 14 days. The CDC still recommends a full 14-day quarantine, however if “local circumstances and resources” are not conducive to a two week quarantine, a shorter period is acceptable.
“We believe that if we can reduce the burden a little bit, accepting that it comes at a small cost, we may get a greater compliance overall with people completing a full quarantine," said Dr. John Brooks, the chief medical officer for CDC's COVID-19 response.
Concerns regarding inability to take 14 days off of work or school, especially for those with economic hardships primarily led to this change. There is a slight increase in risk of transmission, but according to the CDC, it’s acceptable with the expectation that more people will adhere to the quarantine period if it’s shorter. An additional reason: some who have tested positive for the coronavirus may choose to share contacts for fear those they had seen recently will have to quarantine for the full 14 days. Contact tracing may see its full ability if the quarantine period is made shorter.
The initial 14-day period was based upon the upper bounds of the coronavirus’s incubation period. Asymptomatic carriers, likely between 20% and 40%, can still transmit the virus, just as those in the incubation period who have yet to develop symptoms can.
For the holiday season, the CDC retains the same recommendation it had before Thanksgiving: stay home. If people don’t adhere, though, perhaps quarantining post holiday get-together will be a little easier and a little more successful.
14 comments:
I find this very interesting and I definitely think that there are pros and cons to the CDC's new guidelines. My first instinct was to be fairly shocked that they loosened restrictions, considering we're at an all-time high for cases and will only continue to rise. Part of me wants to say that this is kind of crazy and very unhelpful to rising rates. I personally don't believe that making quarantine shorter is the safest idea. That being said, upon further thinking, I realized that this might actually not be a terrible idea when keeping in mind that there is a huge percentage of people who STILL don't want to wear a mask, STILL don't think Covid-19 is a thing or something that they should have to worry about, and STILL break CDC guidelines on a routine basis. By shortening that quarantine time, it's much more likely that the people who don't like the guidelines will give in and follow the quarantine since it's less of a time commitment and inconvenience to them. If everyone followed guidelines and took precautions, I would be strongly against the shortening of the quarantine period, but since that's not the case I wonder if this new approach might be successful in roping in the people who refuse to follow the 14-day quarantine currently.
I hope that this loosening of quarantine time will reap more benefits than negative consequences. The loosening comes at quite a critical time as places like the Bay Area are having a significant increase in cases, but if people will actually adhere to the quarantine rather than trying to sneak out, it might prove to be much more beneficial. We cannot ignore that some people just don't have the financial stability to isolate themselves for two weeks and even those that have jobs might struggle. The economy of the US has been steadily becoming more unstable as many can't find jobs and the jobs people have might not be able to provide for employees who had to take a two week quarantine. Surely people have to be more cautious now, but we can't ignore those that don't have the privilege of having a job they can work at home or having enough money to sustain themselves for 14 days.
Although seeing CDC loosening quarantine guidelines brings me to great shock, I can see how this may be beneficial. By reducing the original 14-day quarantine down to a 10-day quarantine, it allows workers who experience financial hardships to return to work sooner. I can also agree on how a 10-day quarantine may seem more appealing to those who believe that a 14-day quarantine is too long which may convince them to actually participate for the sake of other people's health. I do have one concern, and that would be whether or not the 10- day quarantine would be effective in showing COVID symptoms. Many people who have contracted the virus do not show symptoms and may have recovered from the virus on their own, and these people are the most dangerous group out in public as they can easily spread the virus to others without acknowledging it. In this case, if the quarantine is shortened to 10 days, it may cause more negative consequences as it allows more potential virus carriers to wander in public. Not everyone is going to follow quarantine guidelines and I am skeptical about this updated self-quarantine plan.
I think to many people the CDC's loosening of their guidelines may come as a shock. Especially in California where a lot of our countries are in the highest tier and there is a possibility of another shelter in place, this is very surprising to us in the Bay Area. I hope that the loosening of guidelines will help people to see that though this is a very serious matter, there is hope and many things that we can do to prevent the spread, such as self quarantining and following the CDC's guidelines. Though people may feel perfectly fine, everyone experiences the virus differently, some people could have full symptoms and others won't feel a thing, the only difference is the spread is a lot more likely to come from a person walking around thinking they are perfectly healthy. It's important to continue to social distance, wear masks and follow the guidelines that are provided by your city, state and the CDC.
This loosening of COVID-19 quarantine guidelines during a period when cases are spiking and our own county has been moved to purple tier guidance is quiet surprising yet I hope that the flexibility presented by these new restrictions might convince more and more people to comply with the government. The issue here is that most likely people who have been ignorant of the COVID-19 restrictions thus far will most likely continue to not abide by the looser restrictions. There are many Americans who still view COVID as a hoax or don't take the virus seriously during the time when a 14 day quarantine was mandatory so I do not really see how, for those people, reducing the amount of days needed to quarantine will change their perspectives. On the other hand, for individuals who chose not to quarantine due to economic reasons this loosening of restrictions might prove to alleviate some of the dilemmas they face between economic stability and health safety. However, for many workers who have to work on a daily basis to provide for their families, ignoring the quarantine might still very be a possibility for them. Furthermore, lowering quarantine restrictions will lower the watch on proper incubation times which could lead to many people continuing to spread a dormant virus even after their short quarantine. Personally, what I believe the government should be focusing on is a mandatory use of a mask when in public. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have learned that even just consistently wearing a surgical mask can drastically reduce the spread of the virus among groups of people. Our bodies of leadership put more emphasis on wearing a mask in public in all areas of the U.S.. Overall, I am conflicted on this new approach towards the pandemic but I hope that it does work as it was intended.
I think the less strict regulations will actually help to mitigate transmission. Earlier, people felt like the restrictions essentially bled them of business into really poor conditions. However, more people will be able to participate in purchasing/selling goods, reducing the effects of the virus. I think this will cause more business-owners to take the government policy more seriously as it shows that the government does care for them. At the same time, it could lead to hyper-increased transmission rates because people who still could transmit covid will be out and about. I think part of the reduction in restriction is also a politician-power grab. By appeasing to both people who think covid restrictions should be harsh and to those who's businesses are suffering, those politicians can get more votes. In any case, right now we are trying to treat the virus until we can get the vaccine in mass quantities, and if this method works, then it could save more lives, and that is always a positive.
Following in the footsteps of other countries who have reduced the quarantine time like France and Germany, the CDC has also advised doing so in recent times. Assisting in the rebooting of our economy is definitely a driving point for this change, especially because many people are “pressured out of quarantine” to maintain financial stability. At the same time, although the CDC may have good intentions, these new regulations have come under fire for succumbing to the people’s want for a shorter quarantine, creating a “false dichotomy” that may put up a false illusion of safety for the general public. 14-day quarantines will obviously ensure a lower chance of transmission when compared to 7-10 day quarantines. With COVID cases surging in recent times, the CDC should instead consider providing support in forms such as free food delivery, wage compensations, or relief packages.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/12/02/cdc-cuts-quarantine-time-after-covid-19-exposure-7-10-days/3793548001/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/04/cdcs-new-guidance-for-shorter-covid-quarantines-catches-criticism.html
Similar to many of the commenters above, I agree that the CDC’s updated quarantine guidelines could lead to “greater compliance” from the general public. Though reducing the number of days individuals exposed must quarantine results in increased “residual risk” of exposing others to the virus, hopefully, with more Americans able to “bear this lesser burden,” we will observe an effective method of preventing more hospitalizations and deaths. Even after the devastating “record high of more than 90,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations on Thanksgiving Day,” with so many individuals likely moving forward with plans to travel during this winter season, it seems to make sense that health officials have gone about a slightly different route in adapting guidelines to potentially better serve and protect a greater number of Americans.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/quarantine-covid-cdc-recommends-10-days-no-symptoms/
Although the CDC's decision to make quarantine regulations less strict, I think that this decision has more benefits than drawbacks. Many people don't follow all the quarantine rules because it is very difficult to especially when that means you can't work. Even shortening the 14 day quarantine to something like ten days would make a significant difference for people who are trying their best to work in order to provide for their families. Many business owners are put under a lot of economic stress under these conditions because two weeks of quarantine might result in a loss of tens of thousands of dollars in income. Hopefully, the CDC's deregulation of covid restrictions does encourage more people to follow the regulations and make people more willing to stay safe.
I do think this is slightly surprising mainly because of their timing. I think if these loosened restrictions were enacted when covid wasn't at such a high rate, it would be slightly more understandable. And while some people see a possible benefit regarding those who may be more willing to follow less restrictive guidelines, people walking around after 7-10 days can be still infectious therefore bringing some benefit (from the days quarantine is followed), but only bringing harm the days quarantine isn't followed. And because this is from the CDC, people will believe that they are in the right when they may still be potentially exposing others once they "finish" their quarantine. It can take a 15 minute conversation or meeting in a public place to pass on the virus to someone else, so one can imagine how many opportunities there is for that in a 4+ day period. Of course this doesn't mean everyone will be out once their hit 7-10 days, but it does open opportunities for those who may not want to wait to 14 days or those who believe they are doing the right thing by waiting only 7-10 days before they are in contact with others. Obviously, if lowering it to 7-10 encourages people to quarantine who otherwise wouldn't, that is beneficial especially as we enter holiday season and increased travel. However, the risk is still high because people (including those who might've quarantined for the previous recommended amount) may be willing to follow the new guidelines and leave quarantine while they still have the potentiality to spread the virus.
Like many of the other comments above, I understand that loosening the restrictions will encourage more people to take part in the now 10 day quarantine because it seems like "less work". However there are cons as well because coming out of quarantine too early may cause an increase in the risk of transmission and they may assume since they've quarantined they are free to meet people without masks and pass the virus on. It is surprising that this loosening in restrictions came around thanksgiving and the holiday seasons when covid is reaching an all time peak rather than summer time where we were seeing a relatively and significantly lower amount of cases. However if this can encourage even 25% more people to quarantine and protect others that is only beneficial. I agree with Nina that this would be slightly more understandable if these changes came at a time when covid wasn't at an all time high.
While many people say that lowering the quarantine time from 14 days to 10 days will encourage more people to partake in quarantining, I believe that this just isn't the case. If someone doesn't want to quarantine for 14 days it is very likely that those 4 fewer days will not change their mind. In addition, I don't believe that this is a very good time to make this change as in many places in the country the Covid infection rate is increasing. I believe that the intention for this change is coming from a good place but I feel that it will do much more harm than good. It is much better to be safe and take those full 14 days to quarantine to ensure that you are no longer able to transmit the virus to others. In conclusion, I feel that this new recommendation is not good and people should continue to quartine for 14 days.
I think this is a step in the right direction in convincing people to self-quarantine, despite what others on this thread have said on the subject. Every day that one can legally spend going back to a job if they have one is going to be crucial for low-income workers right now during a recession, even if they really shouldn't need to be sweating a few days off work in general but for now this can be good. However, in terms of actually fighting the disease instead of increasing willingness to participate in fighting the disease, 10 days is still insufficient for self-quarantining, even when it's for an asymptomatic patient and especially when COVID cases are steadily rising once again. The emphasis really should have been on fighting the disease in general and making sure low-income workers can participate regardless of the amount of days they'd have to spend laid off rather than decreasing the amount of days one has to self-quarantine, since that would be fighting the symptoms of a much larger problem.
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