People who test positive for COVID-19 are no longer required to quarantine themselves for five days, according to updated regulations from the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention.
The CDC recommends returning to normal activities if fever has not been present without the help of fever-reducing medication and symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours.
In a press release about the new guidelines, CDC director Mandy Cohen said the change reflects on the progress seen in protecting against severe illness from COVID-19.
“However, we still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses,” Cohen said.
The CDC also states that regulations for COVID-19 will follow similar recommendations for other respiratory illnesses such as flu and RSV — creating a unified approach that relies less on individuals testing for illness and makes recommendations easier to follow and more likely to be adopted.
Hannah Jones, a press assistant at N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said in an email the department is aware of the updates released by CDC. Jones, as well as Marcy Williams, the public health education manager for the Orange County Health Department said their departments will follow CDC guidelines.
In an email, UNC Media Relations said the University will follow the guidance of the NCDHHS and the OCHD.
In addition, Jones said vaccinations are still the best way to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from respiratory infections.
René Najera, doctor of public health and associate in the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said COVID-19 is still present and active, despite lower hospitalization and death rates related to the virus.
