Scott Gottlieb Defends CDC’s 5-Day Isolation Guidance: People Roaming Out ‘Not the Driver of the Epidemic’

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Friday defended guidance that reduced the advised amount of quarantine time for individuals exposed to Covid-19, saying their dalliances in the public sphere were not a “driver” of the epidemic.

Asked about the guidance in a morning interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, Gottlieb said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “didn’t communicate it well,” but said “they’re recognizing this is an epidemic that’s not being spread by people who isolate for five days after a diagnosis, and then go out in the public on day six or seven. It’s an epidemic that’s being spread by people who go untested, who aren’t getting diagnosed.

“We’re probably only diagnosing close to one in 10 actual infections right now. So this isn’t an epidemic that’s being propagated by people who get diagnosed, isolate, and do the right thing,” he added.

In the wake of surging infections related to Covid-19’s Omicron variant, the CDC revised its guidance last month to take five days off its advised period of isolation for people exposed to the virus. Proponents of longer quarantines reacted with skepticism, but Gottlieb called the measure “practical,” and argued that it was necessary for the economy.

“That’s sort of a practical approach — recognizing if you ask people to isolate for a full ten days knowing that two-thirds of them are no longer contagious, you’re going to put a big strain on the economy when that’s not the driver of the epidemic right now,” Gottlieb said.

Watch above via MSNBC.