California health officials have shortened the COVID-19 isolation guidelines for those who test positive as the department aims to focus more on people who are the most at risk of severe illness while also working to minimize school and workplace disruptions.
As of Jan. 9, people who test positive for COVID-19 but have mild symptoms and have been fever-free without the help of medication may return to school or work after one day of isolation.
Previously, the recommended guidelines called for five days of isolation.
“The reason for these changes is that we are now at a different point in time with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years due to broad immunity from vaccination and/or natural infection, and readily available treatments for infected people,” a representative with the California Department of Public Health told KTLA in an email statement.
“Most of our policies and priorities for intervention are now focused on protecting those most at risk for serious illness. Additionally, previous isolation recommendations were implemented to reduce the spread of a virus to which the population had little immunity and had led to large numbers of hospitalizations and deaths that overwhelmed our healthcare systems during the pandemic.”
Health officials still recommend that people who test positive for COVID-19 wear a mask, avoid contact with those who have a higher risk of catching severe COVID-19 and, if needed, seek medical treatment, according to the updated guidelines. COVID-19 vaccinations are also still recommended by health officials.
The CDPH reported 3,011 new COVID-19 hospital admissions in California as of Jan. 12.
When looking at county data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that areas like Merced, Mariposa and Orange counties had a medium COVID-19 hospitalization rate.
Other areas like Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties had low COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
