COVID is surging. What is the latest CDC quarantine, mask guidance?
Guidance related to isolating and mask wearing has changed over the past three years as medical professionals learned more about the virus.
LEARN MOREPosted: 5:34 p.m. EDT Sep 7, 2023
After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and suffering from minor symptoms, first lady Jill Biden tested negative for the virus on Thursday, the White House reported. President Biden also tested negative, again.
Infections and hospitalizations have been spiking in places across the United States as summer ends.
The public health emergency from the era of the COVID-19 pandemic was declared officially over, but the virus still persists.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 17,000 people were hospitalized with the virus in the last week — a 15% increase from the week before.
Scientists first noticed the increases when testing wastewater for the virus. The numbers, while not a surge, are seen by experts as trending upward heading into fall.
The CDC recommends that people who test positive for the virus stay home and try to isolate for five days, until symptoms go away. While the CDC has issued recommendations that the public consider wearing masks, there is not a mandate. The CDC released a report recently warning doctors that they have seen spikes in RSV as well, but there have been various developments in mitigation measures and treatments for that respiratory virus this year.
