Here’s what to know about CDC’s shorter COVID-19 isolation period

Health officials in the United States this week cut COVID-19 isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans from 10 to five days.

Health officials in the United States this week cut COVID-19 isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans from 10 to five days, leading some Canadians to wonder whether similar recommendations could be adopted here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its new guidance is in keeping with evidence that people with COVID-19 are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

While some experts say the move is necessary to curb strain on hospitals as more and more staff become infected or exposed to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, others argue the approach is flawed, and “fraught with danger.”

“If somebody tested positive and a few days later … you had to sit next to them on the subway, how would you feel?” said Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist with the University of Ottawa.

“A certain number of days is not sufficient (when) we’re looking for indication of non-infectious status.”

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease expert with McMaster University, said the CDC guidance is meant to avoid “secondary consequences” of having large numbers of essential workers isolating for 10 days.

Halving recommendations for isolation and quarantine isn’t the perfect solution, Chagla said, noting the infectious period with COVID-19 “is not set in stone.” But the move is realistic, he added.

“The reality of the situation is we have to be a little bit pragmatic about what’s coming and the number of people that will be infected or exposed to COVID-19,” he said.