The rise of the highly contagious Omicron variant has caused widespread business disruptions in many industries. With so many employees testing positive for the new variant, a type of soft lockdown has occurred because businesses are being forced to temporarily close due to staffing shortages. In a move that may ease some staffing pressures on businesses, but that is not without its own controversy, the CDC has updated its guidance shortening isolation periods after testing positive for or being exposed to COVID-19. According to the CDC the change is based on the fact that COVID-19 “transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.”
Asymptomatic Individuals testing positive for COVID-19
Asymptomatic people who have tested positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days, and if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation so long as they continue to wear a well-fitting mask for 5 days while around others. Individuals who developed a fever (or other symptoms) during the course of their illness should continue to isolate until the fever is resolved.
Individuals exposed to COVID-19
For those individuals who are either unvaccinated or are more than 6 months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and who have not yet received a booster, the CDC recommends:
Quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask usage for an additional 5 days. If a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, an exposed person should wear a well-fitting mask when around others for 10 days after exposure. The new guidelines say a “best practice” would also include a COVID test at day 5 after exposure. This is a slight variation from the CDC’s October 22, 2021, guidance which had recommended testing between 5-7 days after close contact with a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
For those individuals who are less than 6 months out from their second mRNA dose (or less than 2 months out from the J&J vaccine) or have received a booster:
There is no need to quarantine in this scenario, but the individual should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure when around others. These individuals are also advised to get tested 5 days after exposure.
For anyone who has been exposed:
Anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, boosted or not boosted, should get tested 5 days after the exposure. Any individual experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should immediately quarantine until a negative test can confirm that symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
The new CDC recommendations are not without controversy and come with a caveat: some health experts caution that reducing the isolation period from 10 days to 5 days without a testing requirement to ensure an infected individual is no longer able to transmit the disease is risky, especially with the meteoric rise of Omicron cases.
Bottom Line
Employers should take note of these shortened quarantine recommendations, and testing and masking recommendations. Although the CDC has shortened the isolation time and does not require testing to return to work, these guidelines are a baseline and employers may choose to adopt longer isolation time or require a negative test before an employee returns to work.