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   From: democrats-suck@twitter.com   
      
   NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation   
   restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five   
   days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to   
   quarantine.   
      
   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the   
   guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the   
   coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three   
   days after symptoms develop.   
      
   The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases,   
   propelled by the omicron variant.   
      
   Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illnesses than   
   earlier versions of the coronavirus. But the sheer number of people   
   becoming infected — and therefore having to isolate or quarantine —   
   threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other   
   businesses to stay open, experts say.   
      
      
   CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the country is about to see a   
   lot of omicron cases.   
      
   “Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are   
   going to be asymptomatic,” she told The Associated Press on Monday.   
   “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely   
   continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”   
      
   Last week, the agency loosened rules that previously called on   
   health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test   
   positive. The new recommendations said workers could go back to work   
   after seven days if they test negative and don’t have symptoms. And   
   the agency said isolation time could be cut to five days, or even   
   fewer, if there are severe staffing shortages.   
      
   Now, the CDC is changing the isolation and quarantine guidance for   
   the general public to be even less stringent.   
      
   The change is aimed at people who are not experiencing symptoms.   
   People with symptoms during isolation, or who develop symptoms   
   during quarantine, are encouraged to stay home.   
      
   The CDC’s isolation and quarantine guidance has confused the public,   
   and the new recommendations are “happening at a time when more   
   people are testing positive for the first time and looking for   
   guidance,” said Lindsay Wiley, an American University public health   
   law expert.   
      
   Nevertheless, the guidance continues to be complex.   
      
   ISOLATION   
   The isolation rules are for people who are infected. They are the   
   same for people who are unvaccinated, partly vaccinated, fully   
   vaccinated or boosted.   
      
   They say:   
      
   —The clock starts the day you test positive.   
      
   —An infected person should go into isolation for five days, instead   
   of the previously recommended 10.   
      
   —At the end of five days, if you have no symptoms, you can return to   
   normal activities but must wear a mask everywhere — even at home   
   around others — for at least five more days.   
      
   —If you still have symptoms after isolating for five days, stay home   
   until you feel better and then start your five days of wearing a   
   mask at all times.   
      
   QUARANTINE   
   The quarantine rules are for people who were in close contact with   
   an infected person but not infected themselves.   
      
   For quarantine, the clock starts the day someone is alerted they may   
   have been exposed to the virus.   
      
   Previously, the CDC said people who were not fully vaccinated and   
   who came in close contact with an infected person should stay home   
   for at least 10 days.   
      
   Now the agency is saying only people who got booster shots can skip   
   quarantine if they wear masks in all settings for at least 10 days.   
      
   That’s a change. Previously, people who were fully vaccinated —   
   which the CDC has defined as having two doses of the Pfizer or   
   Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine —   
   could be exempt from quarantine.   
      
      
   FIVE DAYS   
   Suspending both isolation and quarantine after five days is not   
   without risk.   
      
   A lot of people get tested when they first feel symptoms, but many   
   Americans get tested for others reasons, like to see if they can   
   visit family or for work. That means a positive test result may not   
   reveal exactly when a person was infected or give a clear picture of   
   when they are most contagious, experts say.   
      
   When people get infected, the risk of spread drops substantially   
   after five days, but it does not disappear for everyone, said Dr.   
   Aaron Glatt, a New York physician who is a spokesman for the   
   Infectious Diseases Society of America.   
      
   “If you decrease it to five days, you’re still going to have a small   
   but significant number of people who are contagious,” he said.   
      
   That’s why wearing masks is a critical part of the CDC guidance,   
   Walensky said.   
      
   VARYING RECOMMENDATIONS   
   The new CDC guidance is not a mandate; it’s a recommendation to   
   employers and state and local officials. Last week, New York state   
   said it would expand on the CDC’s guidance for health care workers   
   to include employees who have other critical jobs that are facing a   
   severe staffing shortage.   
      
   It’s possible other states will seek to shorten their isolation and   
   quarantine policies, and CDC is trying to get out ahead of the   
      
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