CDC shortens COVID-19 quarantine to 10 days, 7 with negative test

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced alternatives to its two-week recommended quarantine period for individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19.

Henry Walke, COVID-19 Incident Manager at the CDC, told reporters on Wednesday that although the CDC continues to recommend a 14-day quarantine as the best way to prevent the spread of the virus, the agency has two new alternatives. Quarantines can end after 10 days without a COVID-19 test if the individual has not reported any symptoms, or after 7 days with a negative COVID-19 test and no reported symptoms, Walke said.

This is a breaking news update. A previous version of this report is below.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19, as the virus rages across the nation.

According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines will allow people who have come in contact with someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or seven days if they receive a negative test result. That's down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.

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The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the policy change has been discussed for some time, as scientists have studied the incubation period for the virus. The policy would hasten the return to normal activities by those deemed to be "close contacts" of those infected with the virus, which has infected more than 13.5 million Americans and killed at least 270,000.

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While the CDC had said the incubation period for the virus was thought to extend to 14 days, most individuals became infectious and developed symptoms between four and five days after exposure.

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It's not the first time that the CDC has adjusted its guidance for the novel coronavirus as it adjusted to new research. In July the agency shortened, from 14 days to 10, its advice on how long a person should stay in isolation after they first experience COVID symptoms - provided they're no longer sick.

The new guidance was presented Tuesday at a White House coronavirus task force meeting for final approval.

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The two priority groups encompass around 24 million Americans out of a 

U.S. population of about 330 million.