People who test positive for COVID-19 only need to isolate for five days as long as their symptoms have stopped, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The change to isolation guidelines from 10 days to five is based on data showing people with COVID-19 are most likely to be contagious to others during the few days before and after they start showing symptoms, the agency said in a statement.
After leaving isolation, people should wear a mask around others for five additional days, the CDC said.
The CDC also said Monday that people who haven’t received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine but received their second dose of an mRNA vaccine six months ago, or who received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine two months ago, should quarantine for five days if they’re exposed to someone with COVID-19. That’s a change from previous guidelines, which said people who are fully vaccinated don’t need to quarantine if they have exposure to someone sick with the…