COVID-19 latest news: CDC reduces quarantine time. Back in February 2020, the CDC and WHO concluded that the most effective measure to slow the spread of COVID-19 is to isolate patients and potential carriers, and as the main method of prevention, it is recommended to wash your hands thoroughly, soaping them for 20 seconds. However, as time goes on, the epidemic does not recede, and now CDC reduces quarantine time.
The new rules will allow people who have come into contact with an infected person to return to normal life in seven to ten days if they test negative. This is less than the 14 days recommended since the start of the pandemic.
What do the experts say?
Health experts noted that an initiative to reduce isolation time has been under discussion for months. Scientists still agree that the incubation period of the virus lasts a maximum of 14 days.
Typically, symptoms appear on the fourth to fifth day after infection. By this time, about half of those infected had developed symptoms. Less than 2.5 percent of patients had the disease within the first 2.2 days, and after 11.5 days, the virus manifests itself in 97.5 percent of those infected. Thus, it is not surprising that the CDC reduces quarantine time.
Even isolating each sick person immediately after the onset of symptoms will not stop the epidemic, the scientists concluded. A three-day quarantine after symptoms appear reduces the likelihood of further transmission by up to 25%, and after eight days of isolation, the chances of infecting others is 5 in 100, they also calculated. The effectiveness of quarantine to prevent further infection can be significantly increased through testing, experts are sure.
A week of quarantine and PCR testing may be enough to prevent further spread of covid-19, according to US scientists, according to the latest health news. They also do not see the point of passing the analysis twice: the difference between the results is close to the statistical error. Scientists from the USA and Europe came to such conclusions using mathematical modeling.
Canadian scientists also agree that a weekly quarantine with exit testing is sufficient to understand if a person is infected and is more economically beneficial. Based on these studies, the isolation rules may be revised, and the CDC reduces quarantine time.
What other changes have occurred in the quarantine rules?
This isn’t the first time the CDC has revised its Covid-19 guidance. For example, CDC experts recently stated that cloth masks are suitable for protection because they can restrict the entry of viral particles less than ten microns in size.
Besides, among all the rest of the health news, it is worth noting the fact that the WHO also started talking about new coronavirus rules last week. In a pandemic, the World Health Organization recommends wearing masks indoors and outdoors if it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least one meter.
