CDC changes isolation guidelines for those infected with COVID-19

March 1 (UPI) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that a five-day isolation period is no longer needed for people who test positive for COVID-19.

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said Friday's announcement "reflects the progress we have made."

But Cohen suggested that the general public still use "commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses," such as by getting vaccinated, being treated, or simply by staying home when symptoms being to show.

"We're in a different situation, but we must use the tools that work to protect against respiratory viruses," Cohen said, according to USA Today.

It was first reported a few weeks ago that the CDC was weighing the new changes in what has now become the first loosening of COVID-19 isolation guidelines since 2021.

The new changes reflect that hospital admissions for COVID-19 have decreased by more than 60% in the United States from their peak in 2021. They dropped from over 2.5 million to around 900,000 total in 2023, according to the CDC. Despite periodic episodes of high transmission, "severe outcomes" from COVID-19 have "substantially decreased" since 2020, the CDC said.

In 2021, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States. In 2023, it was the 10th, according to a CDC official.

"Recent data indicate that California and Oregon, where isolation guidance looks more like CDC's updated recommendations, are not experiencing higher COVID-19 emergency department visits or hospitalizations," said Dr. Brendan Jackson, the CDC's head of respiratory virus response.