Atlanta – This week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended reducing the COVID-19 quarantine period from 14 days to 7-10 days.
To increase compliance, the CDC may reduce the recommended quarantine period for those exposed to the coronavirus. Currently, the recommended quarantine period is 14 days. The CDC intends to reduce the period to between 7 to 10 days.
Apparently, agency officials are putting the final touches on this recommendation. Interestingly, this recommendation would require a person who tests negative for COVID-19 to exit quarantine.
CDC’s incident manager for COVID-19, Henry Walke says that “studies have shown that effective quarantines can be done in less time. Although there’s a chance some infections could be missed, there’s a valuable tradeoff to be gained.
CDC Analysis
Officials believe that some people do not attempt to quarantine at all due to the length of time. Therefore, a shorter quarantine is better and more effective. Countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain have been shrinking their self-quarantine recommendations.
Officials only hope that the updated recommendations encourage people to actually quarantine. Data proves that many people simply bypass quarantining.
According to experts if a swab test comes back negative then a person’s probability of developing an infection is low.
On the contrary health officials in the other parts of the world continue to choose 14 days due to the manner in which this virus enters our body cells. Upon entering our body cells the coronavirus multiplies. It takes the virus sometime to spread and for the affected individual to develop symptoms.
Experts also say that the typical incubation period for COVID-19 is approximately five days. Roughly 97 percent of people develop symptoms after 12 days.
At this time there is very little clarity on how reducing the 14 day quarantine period which is a safety threshold can be effective. In 14 days a person is most likely no longer contagious but there is no clarity on whether the same applies to 7 days.
Walke on the other hand thinks it is worth the risk. Will this move help or spread this contagious disease even more?
Thumbnail Credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash (images may be subject to copyright)
Afia is a lawyer, journalist, an avid traveler, an avid reader, a foodie, and an amateur singer. She enjoys instrumental music with her glass of wine ?
