CDC Director: U.S. About to Enter 'Most Difficult Time in Public Health History'
Published Date: 12/3/2020
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued recommendations for shorter quarantine periods, saying that those who lack symptoms can stop after 10 days or seven days with a negative Covid-19 test. The idea is that quarantines shorter than 14 days carry low infection risks and will boost compliance, CDC officials said on a call with reporters. They also urged Americans to postpone holiday travel, citing the volume around Thanksgiving, and outlined new guidelines for reducing travel risks. The changes come amid surging U.S. infections and hospitalizations, with CDC director Robert Redfield warning on Wednesday about the winter months ahead. December to February is “going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Redfield said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, citing the strains being placed on the country’s health-care system. The agency still recommends previous guidance outlining a 14-day quarantine for people who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus. But the officials said the new time limits were being suggested based on modeling by the agency, academic centers and public health departments. “All of these point in the same direction, which is that we can safely reduce the length of quarantine, but accepting there is a small residual risk that a person who is leaving quarantine early could transmit to someone else if they became infectious,” said John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC’s Covid-19 response. The new recommendations are being shared with local public health departments, which will make their own determinations. Either a laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction test or a faster antigen test can be used as part of quarantine testing under the agency’s new guidance. The 10-day quarantine without a test was offered in light of testing capacity issues, officials said. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake