When, and for how long, am I supposed to isolate?
California has issued new recommendations for those who’ve been infected with or exposed to the coronavirus.
With the coronavirus surge worsening, California officials have issued new recommendations on when infected people can end their isolation — guidance that is stricter than that issued earlier this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California says asymptomatic people with coronavirus infections can exit their isolation after the fifth day following a positive test, but only if they get a negative test result.
By contrast, the CDC guidelines don’t require a follow-up negative test; they recommend that those without symptoms can end their isolation after five days but should continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days.
Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the UC San Francisco Department of Medicine, praised California’s stricter guidelines.
“Kudos,” Wachter wrote. “Safer than [the CDC’s] version.”
The move comes as a coronavirus surge is taking hold across the state.
Los Angeles County on Friday reported more than 27,000 new cases, fueled in part by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Overall, California’s reported average daily coronavirus caseload has more than quadrupled in the last two weeks — pushing infection levels significantly higher than they were during the summer surge linked to the Delta variant.
“The risk for virus transmission has never been higher in our county,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said
Thursday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health endorsed California’s new isolation recommendations and will codify them in its latest local mandatory health order.
California’s new guidelines still largely mirror those of the CDC. Both have shortened the minimum time recommended for isolation from 10 days to five for asymptomatic people.
Both the CDC and California officials also suggest quarantine for people who are not up to date on their booster shots if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Officials recommend calling 911 if anyone has difficulty breathing, chest pain or pressure on the chest; bluish lips or face; is confused or hard to wake; or has other emergency symptoms.
The Omicron variant is believed to be two to four times as contagious as the previously dominant Delta.
People who are eligible for booster shots but haven’t yet received them are at increased risk for infection.
“Data from South Africa and the United Kingdom demonstrate that vaccine effectiveness against infection for two doses of an mRNA vaccine is approximately 35%,” the CDC said in a statement. “A COVID-19 vaccine booster dose restores vaccine effectiveness against infection to 75%.”
Here’s a summary of California’s new guidelines on isolating after testing positive or being exposed to the coronavirus.
“You can’t be a ‘positive’ person and decide on Day 6, you’re leaving isolation in L.A. County. You can leave if you’ve had a negative test on Day 5, you’re asymptomatic or your symptoms have dramatically improved, and you’re fever-free,” Ferrer said.
A close contact or exposure is defined as someone who has spent at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period within six feet of a person who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
If you’ve been exposed in this way, and you have been recently vaccinated or have received a booster shot:
The guidance is different for those who have been exposed but are unvaccinated or have not received a booster shot:
Vaccinated people are eligible for booster shots six months after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots and two months after the primary dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
