CDC Eases COVID Restrictions: What Remains In Virginia

VIRGINIA — Federal health authorities announced scaled back COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, representing a big change for Virginia 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.

The Virginia Department of Health currently recommends that residents who test positive for COVID-19 stay home and isolate for at least five days from the date their symptoms began. It's advised that they also wear a well-fitting mask when they are around others at home.

If they are fever-free and other symptoms have improved after five days, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five additional days to minimize the risk of infecting others, according to VDH.

State health officials said these recommendations are for people aged 2 years and older and do not apply to students, teachers, or staff in a child care, K-12 school or day camp setting.

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.

In mid-July, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced updated COVID-19 quarantine guidance for early childhood education. This revised guidance outlined that quarantine is no longer routinely recommended for those exposed to COVID-19 infected people in child care, K-12 schools, and camp settings. Earlier in the year, Virginians were encouraged to consider their own risk tolerance and determine what precautions made sense for them and their families.

“From the first days of my administration, I have supported parents in making informed decisions for their own families, whom they love and know best,” Gov. Youngkin said last month. “As Virginians continue to return to the office and social settings, the pandemic is disrupting workplaces and family life when entire child care facilities, camps and classrooms shutter in response to as few as two cases."

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.