Will Shortened Isolation Periods Without Testing Spread the Virus?

Those symptoms, they said, were making people aware of their illnesses sooner and, in some cases, compelling them to get tested sooner. Those people may be starting the clock on their isolation periods at the very beginning of their infections — rather than at the middle or end, as was true earlier in the pandemic — and returning to work while they remained contagious.

“I don’t think reducing the time for isolation overall is a bad idea,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. “But saying, ‘Five days is probably OK, based on Delta, so let’s give it a shot and see,’ is really not what you should be doing.”

She added, “This could’ve been implemented in a much more reasonable and lower-risk way.”

The C.D.C. has long faced criticism for issuing confusing guidance during the pandemic, particularly on the use of face masks. Its isolation advice on Monday did little to allay those concerns, scientists said.

Several doctors, for example, said they were struggling to grasp what patients would fit under the C.D.C.’s advice that infected people whose symptoms were “resolving” could leave isolation after five days.

Many people’s symptoms fluctuated over the course of a single day, they said. Other patients may seem to be feeling better before experiencing a flare-up.

“The guidance is far more confusing than it could and should be,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and academic dean at Brown University’s School of Public Health.

“Front and center, this should be for people who are not symptomatic. If you have symptoms, you should not be out in public.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/28/health/covid-isolation-period-omicron.html