Many people have received calls from health officials regarding their exposure to COVID-19 positive cases and have been asked to quarantine. Recognizing that 14 days can be a long period of time to quarantine, the State has recommended allowing reduced quarantine times for asymptomatic contacts of positive COVID patients as follows:
Based on the updated guidance from CDC, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) recommends changing the quarantine period for persons known to be close contacts of cases of COVID-19 to 10 days if:
1) Daily self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms has been done and the person has had no symptoms of COVID-19 during the whole 10-day quarantine (day 0 is the is the day of exposure); AND
2) Daily symptom monitoring continues after 10 days for an additional 4 days (days 11–14). If any symptoms develop, immediately self-isolate and contact their local public health department or their healthcare provider; AND
3) After 10 days, persons need to continue to take the measures needed to prevent COVID-19, including but not limited to: wearing a mask when out in public and avoiding gatherings with people who are not in your immediate household, are over 65 years old or who have medical conditions that place them at increased risk for COVID-19. These are also summarized here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
Based on the updated guidance from CDC, the Connecticut DPH also recommends that when diagnostic testing resources are sufficient and available, the quarantine period for persons known to be close contacts of COVID-19 can end after Day 7 if:
1) Daily self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms has been done and the person has had no symptoms of COVID-19 during the whole 7-day quarantine(day 0 is the day of exposure); AND
2) A negative diagnostic test (molecular or antigen) for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is obtained on day 5 or later and a negative test result has been received; AND
b) If a test result is still pending at day 7, the person cannot end quarantine until that result is received and is negative
3) Daily symptom monitoring continues after 7 days for an additional 7 days (days 8–14). If any symptoms develop, immediately self-isolate and contact their local public health authority or their healthcare provider; AND
4) After 7 days, persons need to continue to take the measures needed to prevent COVID-19, including but not limited to: wearing a mask when out in public and avoiding gatherings with people who are not in your immediate household, are over 65 years old, or have medical conditions that place them at increased risk for COVID-19. These are also summarized here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
It is important to note that the reduced time for quarantine only applies if the person had no symptoms of COVID-19 during the entire quarantine period. The incubation period of SARS-Cov-2 is between 2-14 days, with a median incubation of 5 days and CDC continues to recommend a 14-day quarantine period. This quarantine period for persons who might have been exposed to COVID-19 has proven to be an effective strategy to prevent further transmission. It may, however, impose significant personal and community burdens in some circumstances and may dissuade individuals from responding to contact tracer outreach if the length of quarantine is perceived to be a burden, which is the reason for this revision.
CTDPH has issued new quarantine guidance. Click HERE for the guidance.