In response to an increase in cases, health officials in the United States have reduced the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic Covid-19 from 10 to 5 days.
In many areas, the measure is expected to alleviate the disruption caused by staff shortages caused by infections.
Most transmissions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), occur two to three days before and after symptoms appear.
On the other hand, experts have criticized the lack of testing requirements to end isolation.
The virus’s Omicron variant, which is now prevalent in the United States, has contributed to the sharp increase in cases. Preliminary research indicates that Omicron is more contagious than other variants, albeit in a milder form.
The increasing number of people forced to isolate themselves has put a strain on several industries, including air travel, which saw thousands of flights canceled over the Christmas holiday.
On Tuesday, as flight cancellations continued for the fourth day, leaders of major US airlines were among those calling for a change.
The new guidelines are “motivated by science,” according to the CDC, and the isolation must be followed by five days of wearing a mask around others. In the previous two days, more than 200,000 daily infections had been confirmed across the country, according to the announcement.
The recommendation “balances what we know about the virus’s spread and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses,” according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was no recommendation, however, for people to perform rapid at-home tests before their isolation periods ended. Many experts believe that such tests can help determine whether people are still spreading the virus.
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The lack of such a requirement, according to Dr. Michael Mina, an assistant professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is “reckless.”
“I absolutely do not want to sit next to someone who became Positive 5 days ago and has yet to test [negative],” he tweeted.
People in England must now isolate for seven days rather than ten, with two negative lateral flow tests required to end their self-isolation – the first no earlier than day six of isolation and the second 24 hours later.
According to CNN, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, the CDC decision will allow people to return to work sooner, calling it “very prudent” and a “good choice.”
“With the sheer volume of new cases that we’re having and expect to continue with Omicron, one of the things we want to be careful of is that we don’t have so many people out,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, who also serves as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser.
