Health & Fitness
Change To Quarantine Requirement For Coronavirus In City Of Wauwatosa
As long as individuals do not have any symptoms, they can end their quarantine after 7 days.
December 7, 2020
On December 2, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the 14-day quarantine length for close contacts can be shortened to 7-10 days. As long as individuals do not have any symptoms, they can end their quarantine after 7 days with a negative test result or after 10 days without a test.
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The CDC continues to recommend a 14-day quarantine as the best option, since the incubation period for the COVID-19 virus is 2- 14 days. Close contacts should monitor for symptoms each day for the full 14 days, even if they end their quarantine earlier.
On Friday, Dec. 4th, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), released Heath Alert #23: Options for Reducing the Duration of Quarantine for Individuals Exposed to COVID-19 in accordance with the revised CDC guidelines. The Wauwatosa Health Department supports the CDC 10-day quarantine for close contacts who remain asymptomatic, providing that individual symptom monitoring occurs for the full 14 days. If individuals wish to end their quarantine after day 7 with a negative test, they will need to coordinate with their employer or school for early release. This requires an FDA authorized negative test result collected within 48 hours of the end of the proposed quarantine. This means the test must be conducted on day 6 or 7 of quarantine and results must be received to be released from quarantine on day 8. The health department is not able to provide proof of negative test results to end quarantine. Test results can be obtained via e-mail when tested at a WI National Guard testing site or should be requested from the medical facility that ordered testing.
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The Wauwatosa Health Department continues to recommend the full 14-day quarantine when possible and in high-risk, congregate settings such as long-term care facilities, shelters, and jails. These facilities may determine on a case-by-case basis whether the benefits of shortened quarantine outweigh the risks of post-quarantine transmission.
Read the new quarantine guidelines.
This press release was produced by the City of Wauwatosa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.