Americans who test positive for the coronavirus no longer need to routinely stay home from work and school for five days under new guidance released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency is loosening its covid isolation recommendations for the first time since 2021 to reflect the changing landscape of covid-19 four years after the virus emerged. The CDC laid out its justification for the guidance change in a 25-page document that describes the evolving risk environment. Although coronavirus infections are continuing at levels similar to those in years past, new infections are now causing less severe illness and far fewer hospitalizations or deaths, CDC data shows.
