Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made a major change to its COVID-19 quarantine guidance. The public health agency stated that as long as an infected person is fever-free for 24 hours (without using fever-reducing medicine), and other symptoms have improved, people no longer have to isolate themselves from school and work for five days.
Before the change in guidance, the CDC recommended that when someone tested positive for COVID-19, to stay home for at least five days to reduce the chances of spreading the virus to others. News about the potential change leaked a couple of weeks ago, and was quickly criticized by many. As Salon previously reported, there was a concern that it could perpetuate America’s problematic "work-while-you're-sick" culture. At the time of the leak, the CDC said there were no updates to its guidance to be announced. Today, we know the full story, including the background data that informed the agency’s decision and the additional steps they recommend people to take to prevent spreading their infections to others once they’ve resumed their usual activities.
