ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D, Assistant Secretary Dept. of Health and Human Service
The CDC Guidelines for quarantine after a COVID exposure were revised this week. US Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Admiral Brett Giroir said if you have had close contact with a COVID positive person, which is less than six feet unmasked for 15 minutes or longer, the period is now ten days.
“The data now show that a quarantine of ten days is essentially the same as a 14-day. There’s only about a one percent chance of someone coming after ten days that might have been saved by a 14-day quarantine,” said Giroir.
Giroir said the CDC also reduced the quarantine to seven days, instead of 14 when testing is involved.
“A seven-day quarantine, if you test negative at about five days, is the same thing as a ten-day quarantine without a test, or a 14-day quarantine that we had before,” said Giroir.
Giroir said the new guidelines are welcome news as many are unable to quarantine for two weeks, however, it is still recommended to do so after you’ve been exposed to the virus.
“But I’m saying ten days with a one percent risk is well worth taking and most people are going to comply with a ten-day or seven-day much more than a 14-day. So, this is really very good news,” said Giroir.
He said the data now shows a shorter quarantine period than before is not as risky, despite an ongoing surge in cases.
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