And another COVID-19 update from the CDC, August 2022 edition
Just when you thought you would not have to review another COVID update from the Sensenig Law Firm, last week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released an update to its guidance on dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is that this latest update is a far cry from the litany of Excel spreadsheets and flowcharts the CDC has been issuing periodically for the past two years. This is good news for Florida business-owners as I think it is safe to say that following complex quarantine formulae was mental gymnastics. Rest assured that this time around the guidance is much more succinct.
Under the latest guidance, the CDC no longer recommends quarantining after exposure to COVID-19 and deemphasizes screening procedures for asymptomatic persons. Crucially, the CDC no longer distinguishes between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, whether they be employees, customers, or guests.
In short, unless a person is actively experiencing or exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, the CDC no longer recommends any period of self-isolation or social distancing whatsoever, regardless of vaccination status.
This is a huge shift, representing our collective acceptance of the fact that COVID-19 is here to stay. This is not as defeatist as it might sound though because the CDC’s conclusion is based on the fact that nearly 95% of Americans now possess some form of immunity against the worst effects of COVID-19, whether through vaccination, exposure, or both. That is to say: we have finally achieved the “herd immunity” we’ve hoped for these past 2+ years.
However, that’s not to say that you should go ahead and resume sharing drinks and occupying close spaces with people who are currently experiencing or exhibiting symptoms of, or testing positive for, COVID-19. The CDC warns that vulnerable populations – particularly older or immuno-compromised folks – are still at risk for serious complications, or even death, from COVID-19, and such persons are advised to continue masking and social-distancing in crowded settings. Moreover, the CDC still recommends an average of 5 days’ self-isolation for symptomatic or infected persons; per the CDC: “Infected persons may end isolation after 5 days, only when they are without a fever for ≥24 hours without the use of medication and all other symptoms have improved, and they should continue to wear a mask or respirator around others at home and in public through day 10.” Again, this recommendation applies regardless of vaccination status.
As to masking, while the CDC no longer recommends that persons without any particular vulnerabilities to COVID-19 mask up as a general rule, they do recommend that persons potentially exposed to COVID-19 wear a mask for 10 days from the date of exposure and receive a COVID-19 test on the 5th day after exposure. Similarly, the CDC’s latest position on 6-feet of social distancing in public is that, absent some vulnerability or potential exposure, there’s no need to practice social distancing. Conspicuously, the CDC does not advise social distancing in cases of mere exposure.
We tend to focus on the information most relevant for business-owners in these articles, but we also know from experience that many of our business owners are also parents, so it is worth mentioning here that the CDC has also significantly relaxed its recommended COVID-19 protocols for public schools. Up to now, schools had been advised to implement a “test-to-stay” strategy after exposure, where a student who had been potentially exposed to the virus would be required to submit negative tests for several days as a condition of entering the school building. With this latest guidance, the CDC now only recommends that students who have been potentially exposed to COVID-19 wear a facemask for 10 days after exposure. That said, students with particular vulnerabilities to COVID-19 are advised to continue masking at school until the CDC has had time to analyze the impact of these latest recommendations.
The recent CDC guidance boils down to 3 points: 1) no more distinctions between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons; 2) no more quarantine absent actual symptoms of or a positive test for COVID-19; and, 3) an average of just 5 days of isolation for symptomatic or infected persons. Nevertheless, should you find yourself faced with a scenario that won’t fit neatly into the CDC’s guidance, we are here to help you.