ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When someone has been in close, extended contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, the CDC would recommend quarantining for 14 days.
But this month, they changed part of that guideline.
The new guidelines say that recent COVID-19 survivors are exempt from needing to quarantine, for up to three months, should they present no new symptoms.
"People who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to three months as long as they do not develop symptoms again. People who develop symptoms again within three months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified for their symptoms," the CDC wrote.
But doctors warn that this doesn’t mean you have immunity for three months.
“They have a responsibility here to be very cautious in what they say and how they say it. And I think they did not meet the mark here," said Dr. Vin Gupta, a lung and ICU specialist at the University of Washington. "The CDC put out something that's confusing, that does not feel well-researched, because it isn’t, and yet they said it with authority,” Dr. Vin Gupta said.
Dr. Vin Gupta says that there is not a lot of evidence on immunity.
A claim that the CDC echoes. In a statement Friday, the CDC attempted to clarify their update saying, “The latest data simply suggests that retesting someone in the three months following initial infection is not necessary unless that person is exhibiting the symptoms of COVID-19 and the symptoms cannot be associated with another illness.”
So in other words---you don’t need to quarantine in that timeframe, but keep an eye on yourself.
For survivors like Catherine Hanna, she is not risking getting this virus again.
“There's an element of fatigue, I think with following these guidelines so stringently," Hanna said. "But I think that our, our experience with the illness and the fact that we have, you know, loved ones who we want to keep safe, has helped us to continue practicing those guidelines the best that we can.”
To be clear, everyone is still recommended to physically distance, wear a mask, and wash your hands. The change only applies to who needs to quarantine after an exposure.
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