Coronavirus

CDC To Shorten Quarantine Recommendation

It'll reportedly shorten the number of days someone should quarantine from 14 days to 10.

CDC To Shorten Quarantine Recommendation
Evan Vucci / AP
SMS

If you're exposed to someone who has COVID-19, you may not have to spend as long quarantining.

According to reports, the CDC will release new guidance shortening the number of days someone should quarantine from 14 days to 10 and as few as seven days if the exposed person tests negative.

"Remember when the 14-day quarantine was set up, it was very early in the pandemic when we had less information than we do today," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, coronavirus adviser to President-elect Biden. "And if you actually look at the studies that address when does someone actually become infectious and have clinical signs and symptoms after having been exposed, we see that most of that does occur within those first seven days."

Dr. Michael Osterholm serves on President-elect Biden's COVID-19 advisory board.

He says the shortened guidance will also lead to people actually following the rules to begin with.