Ending Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19: Interim Guidance

ABSTRACT

CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels recommendations do not apply in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Instead, healthcare settings should continue to use community transmission rates and continue to follow CDC’s infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare settings. This page is intended for use by healthcare professionals who are caring for people in the community setting under isolation with COVID-19. For more information for the general population in the community, please see Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19. These recommendations do not apply to healthcare personnel in the healthcare setting, and do not supersede state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations. For healthcare settings, please see Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel. For more details, including details on certain non-healthcare settings, please review Setting-Specific Guidance. Summary of Recent Changes Updated guidance reflects new recommendations for isolation and precautions for people with COVID-19. Removed Assessment for Duration of Isolation and Key Findings From Transmission Literature sections so page provides most current information. View Previous Updates Key Points People who are infected but asymptomatic or people with mild COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 5 (day 0 is the day symptoms appeared or the date the specimen was collected for the positive test for people who are asymptomatic). They should wear a mask through day 10. A test-based strategy may be used to remove a mask sooner. People with moderate or severe COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 10. Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should isolate through at least day 20. Use of serial testing and consultation with an infectious disease specialist is recommended in these patients prior to ending isolation.