In a departure from CDC guidelines, California health officials are no longer recommending quarantine for people who were exposed to COVID-19 but don't have symptoms, the Los Angeles Times reported April 13.
The California Department of Public Health updated its quarantine guidelines April 6, removing the five-day quarantine recommendation for members of the general public who are asymptomatic after an exposure. Health officials still recommend quarantine for people who work in high-risk settings, including healthcare workers.
The loosened guidelines aim to reduce the strain put on employers and institutions when healthy people are kept home after an exposure. Health officials said the incubation period for the virus is so short now, that "the most relevant time period for restricting movement by quarantine has passed" by the time people learn they've been exposed to the virus, according to the Los Angeles Times.
View the full report here.