CDC to Recommend Those Exposed to Coronavirus Quarantine for 7-10 Days, Halving Previous Guidance

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is poised to issue new guidelines recommending that those who have been exposed to Covid-19 quarantine for up to a week less than suggested by the agency’s previous advisories.

“We can safely reduce the length of quarantine … accepting there is a small residual risk that a person who is leaving quarantine early could transmit to someone else if they became infectious,” Dr. John Brooks, the CDC’s medical lead for Covid-19, said on a Wednesday call with reporters.

The new standards will advise those who have been exposed to quarantine for 10 days, officials said, down from the agency’s previous dictate of 14 days. Those who test negative for the virus on the fifth day or later will be advised to stop quarantining after just seven days.

Studies have suggested the median incubation period for the virus is five days, with 98 percent of its victims showing symptoms within 11 days. With many patients unable or unwilling to isolate for the two weeks that health officials have recommended since the onset of the virus, some health officials have advised imposing more practical guidelines. France took the initiative in that area in September, halving its recommendation for quarantining from 14 days to seven.

Studies have suggested patients may become contagious with the virus for around two days prior to experiencing symptoms, and remain contagious for about three weeks thereafter.