CDC drops five-day Covid isolation guidelines after nearly four years, ruling that Americans with 'mild' symptoms can return to work or school, even with a positive test

• The CDC has dropped its five-day isolation guidelines, officials announced
• Those who are improving and do not have a fever can still go to work or school
• READ MORE: Damning BMJ report slams US for shutting down schools too long

Americans who test positive for Covid-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, health officials announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that it is changing its longstanding guidance, saying that people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving.

Mild symptoms of Covid include a cough, fatigue, sore throat and congestion or a runny nose. Additionally, those with Covid can return to normal if they have not had a fever for at least one day.

The new guidance will also apply to influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which have surged across the country this winter.

CDC director Dr Mandy Cohen said: ‘Our goal here is to continue to protect those at risk for severe illness while also reassuring folks that these recommendation are simple, clear, easy to understand, and can be followed.’

The CDC has scrapped its five-day Covid isolation guidelines – nearly four years after the pandemic began

The agency noted that most people have some degree of immunity to the Covid due to past vaccinations or infections, and many Americans have not been following the five-day protocol.

However, the CDC urged those who end isolation to limit close contact with others, practice good hygiene, and wear masks in public.

There is no change to guidelines for nursing homes and health care facilities, however.

The announcement comes as Covid hospitalizations and deaths this winter have dropped to historic lows compared to previous years.

However, some experts worry that the change may increase the risk of infection for those people who are more vulnerable to developing severe illness.

The CDC last changed its guidelines during the Omicron wave two years ago, during which isolation was cut from 10 days to five.

The agency is streamlining recommendations for other respiratory illnesses like RSV because many people with a runny nose, cough, or other symptoms are not testing to distinguish whether it’s Covid, flu, or something else, as symptoms are often difficult to tell apart.

Hospitalizations with Covid are dropping in the US, with officials noting that the Covid landscape in the country has changed

The weekly death toll also appears to be dropping, but this is a lagging indicator — because of the time taken for a fatality to be recorded

This may not be as stringent, but it emphasizes that all people with respiratory symptoms should stay home while they are sick, said Dr David Margolius, head of Cleveland’s health department.

However, Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University´s School of Public Health, said that people with Covid are still just as contagious as they were before.

‘What has changed is how much Covid is harming us as a population,’ she said.

The latest CDC data shows that Covid cases are currently trending downwards.

Data from wastewater also suggests Covid cases are currently flatlining at about 883 copies of the virus per milliliter of sewage in the week to February 10 — below the high this winter of 1,318 copies per ml recorded in the week to December 30.

Hospital admissions are also dropping, with 17,310 people admitted to units across the US in the week to February 24, the latest available, compared to 20,197 two weeks earlier — marking a 15 percent drop.

Deaths are also falling, with 510 reported in the week to February 24, which was down from 948 the week before. This is nearly a 50 percent decrease.

At the time, the CDC said the changes were in keeping with evidence that people with Covid were most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

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