Are The Shortened Isolation Periods Going To Affect The Spread Of The Virus?

Federal health officials have shortened the time of isolation periods for those affected by the virus, but is that a good or bad thing?

The reviews are mixed on how to feel. There is fear that this will cause further spread of the virus, while others are happy to be able to get out of isolation faster and get back to work.

“To me, this feels honestly more about economics than about the science. I suspect what it will do is result in at least some people emerging from isolation more quickly, and so there’ll be more opportunities for transmission and that of course will accelerate the spread of COVID-19.”
Yonatan Grad – associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Tuesday that the a shortened isolation is a neccesity, due to volume of so many people that are expected to become infected.

“You don’t necessarily do a test if you don’t know what you’re going to do with the result. The anticipated number of cases that we were seeing required us to take action at this moment.”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky

The actual right isolation time for omicron depends on when people are testing, when they’ve been infected, and their level of immunity. But since that can’t actually be fully tracked tracked, the CDC had to come to an agreement on 5 days isolated and 5 days wearing a mask.

“I don’t think reducing the time for isolation overall is a bad idea. But saying, ‘Five days is probably OK, based on delta, so let’s give it a shot and see,’ is really not what you should be doing. This could’ve been implemented in a much more reasonable and lower-risk way.”
Angela Rasmussen

“The guidance is far more confusing than it could and should be. Front and center, this should be for people who are not symptomatic. If you have symptoms, you should not be out in public.”
Dr. Megan Ranney