US halves coronavirus isolation guidelines as Omicron chaos spreads
- Asymptomatic Covid-19 patients are being told to isolate for five days instead of 10, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others
- Omicron is now the country’s dominant strain, with the US recording more than 200,000 daily coronavirus cases over the past two days
US health authorities on Monday halved the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic Covid-19 infections from 10 to five days, with a surge of cases causing travel chaos and threatening wider social disruption.
“The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society,” the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement announcing the change.
“These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives.”
The CDC recommendations, which are non-binding but closely followed by US businesses and policymakers, suggested that the five-day isolation period be “followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others”.
The agency said the new guidelines were “motivated by science”, which had showed that most Covid-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally one to two days before the onset of symptoms and in the two to three days after.
The CDC also updated recommendations for individuals exposed to Covid-19 who are either unvaccinated or booster-eligible but have yet to get one.