US decreases Covid isolation from 10 to 5 days

As coronavirus cases in the United States soared to near-record levels, federal health officials on Monday halved the recommended isolation period for many infected Americans, hoping to minimize growing disruptions in the economy. and in everyday life.

The virus-related shortage of workers has disrupted holiday travel, leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights, and now threatens sectors as diverse as healthcare, restaurants and commerce. But health experts warn the country is only in the early stages of a fast-forward spurt.

“The omicron variant is spreading rapidly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency had previously recommended that patients infected with the virus be isolated for ten days after testing. But on Monday she reduced that period to five days for people with no symptoms, or those who don’t have a fever and have other decreasing symptoms.

Americans emerging from isolation must wear masks near others for another five days after the isolation period, officials said.

The updated guidance comes amid an increase in infections that threatens to flood the US healthcare system, especially as millions of people have not been vaccinated.

The new recommendations “balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection offered by vaccination and booster doses,” Walensky said. “These updates ensure that people can continue to live their lives in safety.”

But the CDC has not recommended that Americans run rapid tests before the end of periods of isolation, which scientists say would give greater assurance that people will not continue to spread the virus.

Health authorities have also shortened the quarantine period for certain uninfected Americans who have been exposed to the virus. They said people who were not vaccinated would have to quarantine for five days after exposure, reducing the previous recommendation to 14 days. This also applies to people who are already six months after receiving the Moderna or Pfizer basic series of vaccines, or two months after a Janssen vaccine, but who have not had the booster dose.

Authorities also said that uninfected Americans who received the boost did not need to be quarantined after exposure to infected people. But those who have been exposed are encouraged to wear a mask around others for ten days and be tested five days after exposure.

Last week, the CDC reduced, in some circumstances, the number of days of isolation recommended for healthcare professionals who test positive.

The omicron variant has spread remarkably quickly across the United States, from New York to Hawaii, states that have reported more cases of coronavirus in the past week than in any other seven-day period of the pandemic. Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Puerto Rico also reported record increases in cases.

On Sunday (26), the seven-day national average of new cases per day rose to more than 214,000, an 83% jump from the previous 14 days. Deaths also increased 3% during that time, to a weekly average of 1,328, according to a database by The New York Times.

Hospital admissions also rose, though not as much as cases. More than 71,000 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, 18% more than two weeks ago but still well below previous peaks.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday implemented what he called the most comprehensive vaccination order for private companies in the country. All employers in the city must now verify that their in-person employees have received at least one dose of any vaccine.

In Puerto Rico, new travel guidelines have gone into effect, requiring all passengers arriving on domestic flights to show a negative Covid test upon disembarking, or they will have to pay a fine. In Massachusetts, whose governor, Charlie Baker, activated the National Guard, 300 members were sent Monday to critical care hospitals and ambulance services.

In a conference call with governors on Monday, President Joe Biden spoke about cooperation at various levels of government. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Republican, praised Biden’s plan to donate 500 million rapid home tests, but said federal efforts to contain the infections must respect state decisions.

“See, there is no federal solution,” Biden replied. “This is resolved at the state level.”

“Ultimately, it comes down to where the patient needs help, or avoiding the need for help,” added Biden.

With Americans tired of pandemic restrictions and cases increasing, some scientists say that reducing isolation periods for infected people is overdue.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said that when people test positive they usually have a few days of infection already, shortening the period after which they remain infected.

He also said the personal and social costs of ten-day isolation periods are considerable, citing the difficulty facing single mothers and fathers, for example. He fears that some people, especially those who are paid for the hour they work, resist being tested for fear of the cost of missing work.

“It is extremely harmful to ask people to isolate themselves needlessly,” Jha said. “If you can reduce this isolation in a clinically responsible way, I think it lowers the hurdle for people to accept being tested.”

Jha said he wished the CDC had recommended negative rapid test results before the people ended the isolation. “But as the tests are not widely available, this is a reasonable approach,” added Jha.

Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist and specialist in rapid testing, called the CDC’s new guidance “negligent.” Studies have shown wide variations in how long people remain contagious.

Data from South Africa and some European countries suggest that omicron infections have been milder and are producing fewer hospital admissions. But experts caution that this may not be true everywhere.

“We cannot assume that the same things will happen in the United States,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist and researcher at Yale University School of Medicine. “This is no reason to relax our measures, and we still need to immunize groups of unvaccinated people.”

Bill Hanage, a public health researcher at Harvard University, warned that the effectiveness of rapid tests on omicron transmissibility remains unclear, given the possibility that lower levels of the virus also cause infections.

But he said vaccinated people can only spread the omicron variant “in large quantities over a short period”. He added that the variant’s rapid spread could quickly close down workplaces. “We don’t want that to happen in the healthcare industry.”

^{Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves}