NJ Loosens COVID Quarantine Rules, Citing Expanded Vaccinations

NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Department of Health has issued updated quarantine guidelines, and it includes good news for vaccinated people and others who are looking for more social interaction amid the COVID crisis.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said fully vaccinated people, or those who have “clinically recovered” from COVID-19 within the last three months, no longer need to quarantine after having close contact to someone with COVID-19, as long as they’re asymptomatic.

The new guidelines issued late Wednesday come as Rutgers University has announced that it will require all students to be vaccinated next semester. Read more: Rutgers Will Require COVID Vaccines For All Students

However, there are exceptions for high-risk, congregate care settings, she said during a Wednesday news conference (see the list below).

Persichilli said the expanded vaccinations throughout the state prompted the change, but she still encouraged people to take precautions as the holidays approach.

As of Thursday, 3.7 million New Jerseyans have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 1.3 million of the state's 9 million people are fully vaccinated. Read more: Where To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In New Jersey

"We continue to urge residents to abide by the limits set for indoor and outdoor gatherings, the gathering size, and religious service capacity to reduce the spread of the virus," she said. "As a reminder, the gathering limits are set at 25 individuals indoors and 50 individuals outdoors. Indoor gatherings for religious services must be limited to 50 percent of the room’s capacity."

Persichilli said these updates are in sync with new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was the third set of guidelines to be publicly updated this week. Read more: Social Distance For Many NJ School Students Changes To 3 Feet

The state recently changed its travel quarantine guidance to align with the federal and CDC recommendations, shortening the quarantine time for those coming from outside New Jersey from 14 to 10 days.

The policy is applicable to those coming from all regions beyond New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Read more: NJ Updates Quarantine Rules, Including For Travel: What To Know

Here are some of the new rules and guidelines for quarantining in general:

• For people who haven’t been vaccinated or recently recovered from COVID-19, the “best practice” is still a 14-day quarantine period, said Persichilli, but other options are now on the table.
• A quarantine period of 10-days without testing, or a seven-day quarantine with a negative test result, is “sufficient in some cases where risk of transmission is low or moderate,” said Persichilli.
• A test should be taken between the fifth and seventh day of the quarantine, Persichilli said.

There are also recommended minimum timeframes for quarantine that vary by the level of community transmission, and they're driven by the state's "COVID Activity Report" that's issued each week.

The latest report showed that New Jersey has actually backslid in the management of the virus, and a number of counties are considered "orange," or have a high threat of coronavirus spread. Some South Jersey counties are "yellow," or moderate. Read more: NJ Counties Backslide In Coronavirus Crisis: Here's Where

When there is substantial COVID-19 community spread, defined as "very high" or red, and "high" or orange, the state Department of Health recommends quarantining for 14 days to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19.

The rule applies particularly to people who live with or care for those at high risk of severe complications for COVID-19, such as older adults, people with underlying conditions or obesity, and pregnant women.

When COVID-19 transmission risk is moderate or low, the CDC’s recommended shortened quarantine timeframes are acceptable alternatives, health officials said.

Also:

• Quarantines can be shortened only if people remain asymptomatic throughout the shortened quarantine period; if they continue to monitor for symptoms through day 14; and if they are counseled to follow COVID-19 prevention recommendations (such as social distancing, mask use, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, avoiding crowds) through day 14.
• People under quarantine should be advised that if they develop symptoms of COVID-19, they should immediately self-isolate and contact the local health department (www.localhealth.nj.gov) and their healthcare provider to report this change in clinical status.
• If an outbreak is reported in a community setting, contacts must quarantine for the full 14 days

Here are the recommendations for high-risk congregate care settings:

• High-risk congregate care settings are those that care for persons at high risk for severe complications (such as long-term care and assisted living facilities, group homes, correctional facilities).
• Residents of high-risk congregate care settings need to continue to quarantine for 14-days, regardless of vaccination status and at all COVID-19 transmission risk levels, following prolonged close contact (within 6 feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
• Asymptomatic residents who have clinically recovered from COVID-19 in the prior three months do not need to quarantine after a close contact exposure. But it is recommended for a close contact exposure that happens more than three months after the prior infection.
• People who work in high-risk congregate settings need to continue to quarantine for 14-days following prolonged close contact (within 6 feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 unless they remain asymptomatic and people are fully vaccinated; have clinically recovered from COVID-19 in the past three months; or staffing shortages would cause serious harm or danger to public health or safety.
• Testing following exposure and through routine workplace screening programs (if present) is still recommended, even if fully vaccinated.

The state continues to review coronavirus protocols as more vaccines become available, but at least two reports show that many counties still have a high rate of transmission. Read more: 'High' COVID Transmission Across NJ; 21 Counties In 'Red': Feds