CDC Eases COVID Restrictions: What Remains In Illinois

ILLINOIS – Federal health authorities announced scaled back COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, representing a big change for Illinois residents as key recommendations from the beginning of the pandemic are going away.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer recommending people quarantine when exposed to someone with COVID-19 and is also dropping its guidance for people to stay six feet apart.

Instead, the agency is recommending those exposed to someone with COVID-19 wear a mask for 10 days and test for the virus on the fifth day.

The guidelines for those who test positive remain unchanged. They should isolate for five days and may end isolation after that time if they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication and their symptoms are improving. A mask should still be worn through the 10th day after testing positive, according to the guidelines.

Many states and cities already have loosened restrictions and abandoned measures such as social distancing as the country has started moving past the pandemic after two and a half years.

Currently in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, COVID-19 testing is still strongly recommended for students or school staff with COVID-19-like symptoms, including severe headache, shortness of breath, a new cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, new loss of sense of taste or smell, fatigue from an unknown cause or muscle or body aches.

"When suspicion of COVID-19 is high due to other symptoms, school health officials should isolate students/staff," IDPH said. For those who test positive, IDPH recommends isolating for at least five calendar days and returning to school if they haven't had a fever, diarrhea or vomiting for 24 hours.

Previously, IDPH recommended those who had been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case also isolate for five days, but that is not in line with the new CDC guidelines.

IDPH recommended those who previously tested positive and have isolated for five days before returning to school wear a mask through day 10 if they are able. Those who cannot wear a mask and have tested positive are urged to isolate for 10 days, according to IDPH.

"The local health department may supply dates as to when a student or staff member can return to school, otherwise schools should permit return consistent with this guidance," IDPH said. "(A) letter from (the) local health department releasing the student or staff member from isolation or quarantine is not required."

Greta Massetti, a senior epidemiologist with the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and an author of the guidelines, noted the country is better equipped to protect people and communities from severe illness from COVID-19.

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” Massetti said.

An estimated 95 percent of Americans have some level of immunity from COVID-19, either from vaccination or infection, Massetti told reporters.

Schools could see the biggest change in COVID-19 restrictions, as students will be able to stay in the classroom if they have been exposed to the virus but not tested positive. The CDC also ended its recommendation for routine daily testing, though it can be reinstated in situations with a surge of infections, the agency said.

The CDC guidelines align with the idea that children should be in the classroom, an objective that “can be done safely with acceptable levels of risk,” Dr. Richard Besser, a pediatrician and president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told NBC News.

Earlier this week, before the CDC released its new guidelines, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Chicago Public Schools had already set new guidelines before the start of the school year, according to NBC Chicago.

Those guidelines include routine testing for those who want to be tested, and continued usage of masks. She called the CPD guidelines "far beyond" the CDC's recommendations.

The CDC continues to recommend masks only in areas where community transmission is deemed high or if a person is considered at high risk of severe illness.

Masks will be optional in most school districts when classes resume in the fall as schools across the country attempt to return to pre-pandemic norms. Los Angeles Unified School District announced earlier this month it was ending weekly asymptomatic testing. Some of the largest public school districts in the country, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, have made masks optional over the past few months.

The CDC will announce updated guidelines for health care settings and high-risk congregate settings “in the coming weeks,” officials said.