CDC Updates COVID-19 Recommendations and Drops 5-day Isolation Guidance

People who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to routinely stay away from others for at least five days, according to new guidelines from the CDC issued Friday. The change ends a strategy from earlier in the pandemic that experts said has been important to controlling the spread of the infection.

The agency says it’s updating its recommendations for COVID-19 to bring them in line with its advice for other kinds of respiratory infections, including influenza and RSV. CDC is making updates to the recommendations now because the U.S. is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV. Read more from the CDC here.