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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will shorten the recommended quarantine period for people exposed to the coronavirus to just seven days, CNN reported.
Under the new guidelines, quarantines can end after seven days for people who test negative and 10 days for those not tested instead of the current 14 days for both groups.
CDC Director Robert Redfield announced the update on Tuesday at a meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, according to CNN, which cited two senior administration officials. Vice President Pence, head of the task force, has reportedly been pushing the CDC to consider the recommendations for several months, and the matter has long been under discussion.
The CDC has previously defined close contact as involving continuous exposure to a person infected with the virus for 15 minutes. He currently defines it as 15 minutes in total within six feet of an infected person. In July, the agency changed its recommendations on how long a person should self-isolate after experiencing symptoms for the first time, shortening the period from 14 days to 10, if the person is not symptomatic at the time. end of this period.
The agency has long believed that the incubation period for the virus is up to 14 days, but people typically develop symptoms and become infectious themselves within 5 days of exposure, according to the Associated Press.
The change comes as the United States has passed 13.8 million cases of the virus. About 271,000 Americans have died.
The Hill has reached out to the CDC for comment.
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