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The Omicron variant is "hitting" and the US with the result that cases are multiplying, with the country's health system under pressure. To address these pressures, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday shortened isolation (or more simply quarantine) periods[/B] for healthcare workers who contracted coronavirus.
According to the New York Times report, the agency recommended that health care workers who are asymptomatic return to work after seven days and a negative test, adding that "the isolation period can be further reduced if there are staffing shortages."
Who will not even be quarantined
The agency also said that workers who had received all recommended doses of vaccine, including boosters, did not need to be quarantined at home after a high-risk exposure.
The new guidelines apply to all healthcare facilities directly involved in patient care. This will include hospitals, nursing homes, dental offices and other medical settings.
While infections with the Omicron variant most often result in milder illness, the variant is highly contagious and hospitals are bracing for an influx of vulnerable Americans.
The shortest such back-to-work policy - five days, with some other conditions - is half the 10-day standard set earlier by the CDC. Other hospitals have settled on seven days as a safe window for infected staff members to return to work.
[/P][BR][BR]What was in place at the start of the pandemic
The agency's new recommendations do not apply to the public. Early in the pandemic, the CDC had set a 14-day isolation period for infected Americans to reduce the risk of transmission, but then lowered it as more research confirmed that a typical patient would be infectious for a shorter period of time.
Source: in.gr
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