August 12, 2022 Update

CDC Updates Isolation & Precautions for People with COVID-19 & for Exposures

On Thursday, August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance in relation to those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and for those who have been exposed to COVID-19.

Exposure to COVID-19

After Being Exposed to COVID-19

• Wear a mask as soon as you find out you were exposed
• Start counting from Day 1
• Day 0 is the day of your last exposure to someone with COVID-19
• Day 1 is the first full day after your last exposure

Continue Precautions for 10 Full Days

• You can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 full days after you were exposed
• Take precautions
  • Wear a high-quality mask or respirator (e.g., N95) any time you are around others inside your home or indoors in public
  • Do not go places where you are unable to wear a mask, including travel and public transportation settings.
  • Take extra precautions if you will be around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19
• Watch for symptoms

• Test even if you don’t develop symptoms.
• If you already had COVID-19 within the past 90 days, see specific testing recommendations.
• If you test negative: 
  • Continue taking precautions through day 10
  • Wear a high-quality mask when around others at home and indoors in public
  • You can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after you have been exposed.
• If you test positive:
  • Isolate immediately and follow protocols below

When you have COVID-19

• Regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate from others when you have COVID-19.
• You should also isolate if you are sick and suspect that you have COVID-19 but do not yet have test results.
• If your results are positive, follow the full isolation recommendations below.
• If your results are negative, you can end your isolation.

• When you have COVID-19, isolation is counted in days, as follows:
• If you had no symptoms
  • Day 0 is the day you were tested (not the day you received your positive test result)
  • Day 1 is the first full day following the day you were tested
  • If you develop symptoms within 10 days of when you were tested, the clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset
• If you had symptoms:
  • Day 0 of isolation is the day of symptom onset, regardless of when you tested positive
  • Day 1 is the first full day after the day your symptoms started

• Wear a high-quality mask if you must be around others at home and in public.
• Do not go places where you are unable to wear a mask.
• Do not travel.
• Stay home and separate from others as much as possible.
• Use a separate bathroom, if possible.
• Take steps to improve ventilation at home, if possible.
• Don’t share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils.
• Monitor your symptoms. If you have an emergency warning sign (like trouble breathing), seek emergency medical care immediately.
• Learn more about what to do if you have COVID-19.

Ending Isolation

End isolation based on how serious your COVID-19 symptoms were.

• If you had no symptoms
  • You may end isolation after day 5.
• If you had symptoms
  • You may end isolation after day 5 if:
    • You are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication)
    • Your symptoms are improving
  • If you still have fever or your other symptoms have not improved, continue to isolate until they improve.
• If you had moderate illness (if you experienced shortness of breath or had difficulty breathing), or severe illness (you were hospitalized) due to COVID-19, or you have a weakened immune system, you need to isolate through day 10.
• If you had severe illness or have a weakened immune system, consult your doctor before ending isolation. Ending isolation without a viral test may not be an option for you.
• If you are unsure if your symptoms are moderate or severe or if you have a weakened immune system, talk to a healthcare provider for further guidance.

Regardless of when you end isolation, avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 until at least day 11.

Remember to wear a high-quality mask when indoors around others at home and in public and not go places where you are unable to wear a mask until you are able to discontinue masking (see below), including public transportation and travel settings.

Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.

Removing Your Mask

• After you have ended isolation,
  • when you are feeling better (no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and symptoms improving),
    or 
  • wear your mask through day 10.
• If you have access to antigen tests, you should consider using them. With two sequential negative tests 48 hours apart, you may remove your mask sooner than day 10.
• Note: If your antigen test results are positive, you may still be infectious. You should continue wearing a mask and wait at least 48 hours before taking another test. Continue taking antigen tests at least 48 hours apart until you have two sequential negative results. This may mean you need to continue wearing a mask and testing beyond day 10.

As of May 2022, this newsletter is sent to subscribers only on an irregular basis with significant local COVID-19 updates and important news. It will generally not be sent weekly when community levels remain Medium or Low for multiple weeks.