VA Health Officials Review Federal Guidance Shortening Isolation, Quarantine Periods

VIRGINIA — U.S. health officials on Monday shortened the isolation and quarantine guidance for Americans who catch the coronavirus or who have had close contacts with someone who tested positive.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened the recommended times that people should isolate when they have tested positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to five days if they do not have symptoms and if they wear a mask around others for at least five more days.

The CDC also shortened the recommended quarantine time for people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second Pfizer or Moderna dose, or more than two months after the Johnson & Johnson, and not yet boosted. For these people, the CDC now recommends quarantine for five days, followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.

The Virginia Department of Health is reviewing the new guidance from the CDC to determine whether to pass it along to residents in their states.

"VDH is reviewing the changes and will make updates after thoroughly considering the implications on our existing guidance and on the Commonwealth,” the state health department said in a statement Tuesday. “Once we assess the impact, we will provide updated information.”

Under current guidance in Virginia, residents who test positive for COVID-19, even if they do not have symptoms, are to stay at home in a “sick room” for at least 10 days.

People who have had close contact with someone who tests positive for coronavirus in Virginia also are advised to stay home for at least 10 days.

If PCR or antigen testing is available, Virginia residents can get tested on or after day 5 of their most recent exposure. Virginians can leave home after day 7 if the PCR or antigen test performed on or after day five is negative.

In other countries, 10 days of quarantining for someone who tests positive for COVID-19 remains the guidance in Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom.

"Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others," the CDC said Monday.

The CDC announced the relaxed quarantine guidelines on the same day that the U.S. reported more than half a million new COVID-19 cases, the most positive cases of any single day of the entire pandemic.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the change was an effort to "make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science."

The recent surge in cases has spurred concerns about staffing shortages at hospitals, airlines and businesses across the country. Research has suggested omicron, while more infectious, causes milder illness.

SEE ALSO: Omicron Cases Explode In Virginia, DC: See Latest CDC Data

Last Tuesday, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Basitan, wrote a letter to Walensky, urging the CDC to reconsider its guidelines for 10 days of isolation in fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID-19.

"Similar to healthcare, police, fire, and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate shortages and created significant disruptions," the Delta CEO wrote in the Dec. 21 letter. "To address the potential impact of the current isolation policy safely, we proposed a 5-day isolation from symptom onset for those who experience a breakthrough infection."

Less than a week later, the CDC announced its new isolation guidelines that were in line with the request from Delta.

The federal officials also said the change was motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the one to two days prior to the onset of symptoms and the two to three days after.

"Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others," the CDC said.

The CDC defines quarantines differently, because the term refers to those who are in close contact with someone who tests positive. The CDC had recommended that unvaccinated people who come into close contact with someone who tested positive should quarantine for 10 days. The agency had said those who were vaccinated did not need to quarantine.

The CDC is now recommending those who are vaccinated and received a booster shot can skip quarantining if they wear a face mask for at least 10 days. If a person is vaccinated and has not gotten a booster, or if they are partly vaccinated or not vaccinated at all, the CDC recommends a five-day quarantine, then wearing a mask in public for an additional five days.

RELATED: DC Airport Delays: Nearly 50 Flights Grounded By Omicron COVID-19