The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines after two and a half years, dropping quarantine recommendations when they get close to an infected person. The public health agency also said people are no longer required to practice social distancing of at least feet.
The changes were driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans aged 16 and above have acquired some level of immunity through vaccination or getting infected. CDC's Greta Massetti, the author of the updated guidelines, noted that the situation from two years ago was different from the current situation hence the recent changes.
CDC's Changes in COVID-19 Guidelines Impact on Schools
Many places in the US have long ago not implemented social distancing and other common precautions, although some of these guidelines are particularly important in schools that will resume classes this month.
But the most significant education-related change in the new guidelines is the routine daily testing, Associated Press reported. Although, the practice can be reinstated when there is a surge in infections.
Additionally, the CDC has dropped a "test-to-stay" recommendation that regularly tests students exposed to COVID-19 instead of quarantining them at home to let them continue attending their classes. The no quarantine and testing option has also disappeared.
Wearing facemasks is still recommended in areas where transmission is high or if a person is at risk of severe illness but is optional in most districts when classes resume. Schools in some parts of the country had already scaled back their COVId-19 precautions weeks before the new CDC guidelines were released. Some are even planning to return to pre-pandemic schooling.
In Los Angeles, schools are no longer requiring weekly COVID-19 tests and instead make home tests available to families. Likewise, schools in North Carolina are dropping weekly testing and some have moved away from test-to-stay programs.
A maintain social distancing sign is seen at the Fratton Park football stadium on January 29, 2022 in Portsmouth, England.
Relaxing COVID-19 Guidelines Aim to Make Students Stay at School
Randi Weingarten, the president of the largest teachers union in the US the American Federation of Teachers, said that they welcome the new COVID-19 guidelines and have great hopes for this school year.
Harvard University's healthy building program director Joseph Allen said that the new recommendations were designed to keep children in school as much as possible. Previous policies have forced millions of students to stay home even though the virus poses a relatively low risk to young people.
However, others say that CDC's new guidelines are too relaxed. Dartmouth College public health researcher Anne Sosin noted that allowing students to go back to school after five days of getting infected without a proper negative COVId-19 test could lead to outbreaks.
She suggests that schools should invest in the conditions to ensure a safe return to normal schooling and not just drop every policy haphazardly like many schools in the country.
The CDC still recommends individuals who test positive to self-isolate for at least five days regardless if they are vaccinated or not. Meanwhile, the FDA has also updated its recommendations for people exposed to COVID-19 and said to get three tests to rule out infection. The change is based on recent studies that the old protocol could miss positive results and spread the virus.
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