CDC COVID Isolation Guidelines Have Been Majorly Shortened—What to Know
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The CDC has new recommendations around COVID-19 isolation periods.
The organization now groups COVID-19 with other respiratory illnesses, like the flu and RSV.
2024 recommendations have people isolating until they’ve been fever-free for a day.
It’s been four years since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and a lot has changed. Life has mostly gone back to normal, and many treat the Coronavirus like the common cold. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made a big change in COVID-19 protocol recommendations for 2024.
The new guidance throws out the previous five-day isolation recommendation in favor of a more relaxed approach. The CDC is also now lumping COVID-19 recommendations with those of the flu and RSV.
“CDC is making updates to the recommendations now because the U.S. is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV,” the organization said in a statement online.
The CDC also stressed the importance of “core prevention steps and strategies” to lower the risk of getting seriously ill from a respiratory virus, including staying up to date with vaccines, practicing good hand hygiene, and focusing on cleaner air by trying to bring in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air (by using the best air purifiers), and gathering outside instead of inside.
But a lot of people understandably want to know what they should now do when they get sick with COVID-19. Here’s what the CDC says, along with how infectious disease doctors feel about the changes.
What to do if you test positive for COVID-19
If you test positive for COVID-19 or have respiratory virus symptoms (like a fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and/or headache) that aren’t explained by another cause, the CDC recommends that you stay home and away from others. During that isolation period, it's best to wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask, like an N95 mask, when you need to be around others.
The CDC says that you can go back to your normal activities when you’ve been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medication, and feeling better for at least 24 hours.
When you go back to your normal activities, the CDC recommends that you “take added precaution” for the next five days, like using masks, practicing physical distancing, and testing yourself when you’ll be around other people indoors.
“Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better,” the CDC says. “You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.”
If you develop a fever or start to feel worse after you’ve gone back to your normal activities, the CDC recommends that you stay home and away from others for at least 24 hours until your symptoms get better and you haven’t had a fever without the help of fever-reducing medication. Once you go back to your usual routine, the CDC recommends again taking extra precautions for the next five days.
If you’re at high risk for serious complications from COVID-19, are immunocompromised, or are over 65, it’s a good idea to contact your doctor to see if you may benefit from taking an antiviral medication like Paxlovid, says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
What do experts think of the updated guidelines?
Infectious disease experts are supportive of the CDC’s change. “It’s a good thing and will be welcomed by the general public, which has largely been doing this on their own for some time,” Dr. Schaffner says. Dr. Schaffner says he and several other people in the infectious disease community have been urging the CDC to revise the guidelines for a while. “The CDC waited a bit to make sure that the current trends in COVID really were sustained,” he says.
Infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says he’s “supportive” of the new guidelines. “They reflect the fact that the context of COVID-19—the respiratory virus infection for which we have the most tools—has changed,” he says. “Similar updates to the guidelines were made in California, Oregon, and many other countries and, in that respect, the CDC was lagging.”
Dr. Schaffner points out that, while people continue to get seriously ill and die from COVID-19, that’s no longer the case for most of the American public. “Well over 90% of the U.S. population has had some experience with COVID, through infection or vaccination, or both,” he says. “The virus itself is not as virulent or severe as it once was, and it appears to produce somewhat milder disease now."
Shortening the isolation period should have “no measurable impact” on how much COVID-19 spreads in the general population, Dr. Schaffner says.
How to protect people around you if you test positive
To protect others around you if you test positive for COVID-19, the CDC recommends isolating—including from members of your household—until you’ve been fever-free without the help of fever-reducing medications for 24 hours. “This is especially important if you’re around anyone who is at high risk of serious disease,” Dr. Schaffner says.
Masking up when you need to be around others and practicing careful hand hygiene can also help limit the spread, the CDC says. It’s also a good idea to take steps to create cleaner indoor air, like opening doors and windows and using exhaust fans, per the CDC. You can even try adding an air purifier to your space.
Dr. Schaffner stresses the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine when you’re healthy as well. “So many people have not taken advantage of the updated vaccine,” he says. “But the vast majority of people being hospitalized today because of COVID are unvaccinated.”
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