CDC reduces COVID quarantine recommendations, again

C. A. Bridges, Fort Myers News-Press
·3 min read
22
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Welcome to today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter, which comes out once a week on Mondays with alerts for breaking COVID-19 news.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines again last week, dropping some quarantine recommendations and reducing others. However, the FDA now says you need to pass three at-home COVID tests to be sure you're clear. (Here's where to buy masks and at-home tests.)

Meanwhile, with schools back in session for a lot of counties, the latest coronavirus surge is on the way out in Florida, with every major indicator falling. Except for deaths.

BIWEEKLY UPDATE: Unlike most states which report coronavirus data directly to the public multiple times a week or daily, Florida reports every other week with the summary only listing the increase for the previous seven days, entirely skipping a week of data. State reports include only Florida residents and not visitors for cases and deaths, but do include visitors for vaccination totals.

Subtracting the state's July 29 report from the Aug. 12 one, we get:

  • New COVID-19 cases in the previous two weeks: 119,918

  • Total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began: 6,909,416 (6,875,931 per Johns Hopkins)

  • New COVID-19 deaths in the previous two weeks: 994

  • Total COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began: 78,559

  • Last week's testing positivity: State report: 18.4%, Johns Hopkins: 22.56%

In the latest week COVID-19 cases in Florida were about 5.8 times what the CDC says is a high level of community transmission. A Sunday report said the state had 4,138 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, from 4,353 a week earlier.

State death counts from COVID-19 tend to get updated and revised so that number may not reflect actual deaths occurring in that time period.

Sources: Florida Department of Health COVID report, U.S. Health and Human Services (hospitalizations)

ALSO IN THE NEWS: A man laid off during the pandemic started mowing lawns for free for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, and it's blown up with volunteers nationwide. And a fact check: No, monkeypox is not a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, experts say.

FROM A READER (edited): "Explain the new standards: If an employee tests positive and coworkers were exposed, do all of them need to quarantine for 5 days or only unvaccinated employees? After a positive test, when can one return to work if you're still testing positive without symptoms?" First, check with your employer. Your company may have specific COVID-19 protocols in place.

As for state requirements, according to the February guidelines from the Florida Department of Health (which I had to Google for, as I didn't see any mention of quarantines on the state sites other than a vague "stay home" instruction on the "If You're Sick" page of the official FDOH Florida COVID-19 Response website), if you test positive you should stay home and away from others and return to work on day 6 if you're fever-free and your symptoms, if any, are improving.

If you were exposed and exhibit symptoms, get tested and then follow the instructions above. If you have no symptoms, you don't need to quarantine, according to the FDOH, but keep watching for symptoms to develop over the next 10 days. The CDC later lowered their own guidance along the same lines, although the CDC also advises you to wear masks in public and indoors and keep social distancing during that time. And none of this is mandatory as far as the state of Florida is concerned.

Anything you'd like to know? Send us your questions.

COVID INFO: See our COVID-19 resource guide here. Compare the spread of COVID-19 in your area here. Here's how to tell if you have the flu, a cold, or COVID-19, and all about the tests. Here's what to do if you test positive for COVID, and what we know about long COVID. And here's what you need to know about the aggressively-contagious BA.5 "ninja" variant.

Thank you for reading! We appreciate you trusting our statewide journalists to keep you safe and informed. If you are encouraged by our work and want to support your local journalists, please consider subscribing. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Forward this email so they can sign up.

— C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY - Florida Network DOT Producer

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: CDC reduces COVID quarantine recommendations, again