CDC releases new Covid isolation guidelines

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The CDC has some new guidelines when it comes to isolation after testing positive for Covid.

They recommend that while you’re feeling sick, you stay home, but after 24 hours without symptoms, you can return to work or school.

That’s coming after the previous guidelines where you were supposed to isolate for five days after testing positive.

These changes mirror the CDC’s recommendations for the flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Doctors at Memorial Health say this is likely because so much of our population has been vaccinated or exposed by now, giving them more ability to fight the disease.

“The number of people that have been exposed or vaccinated or both to Covid-19 in the United States is measuring in the 98th-percentile so the vast majority of the population has had some exposure either via vaccine, infection, or both,” said Dr. Tim Connelly, Internal Medicine Specialist, Memorial Health. “We have to move forward as a country, we have to move forward as a society and now is the time to kind of relax a little bit on some of those restrictions and take that leap forward so that we can return to normalcy.”

The CDC still recommends that you continue to take precautions after leaving isolation, like wearing a mask around others, washing your hands, and practicing social distancing when around others who are at a higher risk of illness.