A preview of the plans obtained by CNN shows that the updated recommendations are expected to ease quarantine recommendations for people exposed to the virus and remove the emphasis on social distancing of 6 feet.
The agency is also expected to de-emphasize regular screening testing for Covid-19 in schools as a way to monitor the spread of the virus, according to sources who were briefed on the agency’s plans but were not authorized to speak to a reporter. Instead, it says it may be more useful to base testing on community levels of Covid-19 and whether places are at higher risk, such as nursing homes or prisons.
The changes, which could be publicly released as soon as this week, were previously presented to educators and public health officials. These are still under discussion and are not final.
In a statement to CNN, the agency said, “CDC is always evaluating our guidance as the science changes and will update the public as it happens.”
As part of the expected changes, the CDC will also soon remove the recommendation that students exposed to Covid-19 get regular tests to stay in the classroom. The strategy, called the “stay test,” was recommended by the agency in December during the first wave of Omicron to keep unvaccinated children who had been exposed but had no symptoms in the classroom instead of quarantined at home.
The retention test required a lot of resources for schools, and some districts expressed concerns about having enough money to continue, one source said.
In and out of schools, the agency will no longer recommend standing at least 6 feet away from other people as a protective measure. Instead, the new guidelines aim to help people understand which types of settings are riskier than others because of things like poor ventilation, crowds and personal characteristics like age and underlying health conditions.
The CDC is also set to ease quarantine requirements for people who are unvaccinated or who are not up-to-date on their Covid-19 vaccines. The agency currently recommends that people who are not up to date on their vaccines stay home for at least five days after close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Going forward, they won’t have to stay home, but must wear a mask and get tested for at least five days after exposure.
People who are sick with Covid-19 should still self-isolate, the agency is expected to say.
The agency also plans to re-emphasize the importance of building ventilation as a way to stop the spread of many respiratory diseases, not just Covid-19. He plans to encourage schools to do more to clean and freshen indoor air.
Sources say the adjustments reflect both changing public sentiment about the pandemic — many Americans have stopped wearing masks or social distancing — and the high level of underlying immunity in the population. Checking blood samples showed that as of December, 95% of Americans had Covid-19 or had been vaccinated against it, reducing the chances of getting seriously ill or dying if they got it again.
CDC recommendations are not legally binding. Many cities, states and school districts will review them, but may end up pursuing different strategies.
One example of this is masks in schools.
More than 200 million people – about 60% of the total population – live in a county with a “high community level of Covid-19”, where the CDC warns of a risk of strain on the health care system and recommends universal masking indoors. Still, most schools left masks optional for students this year. Among the top 500 K-12 school districts, based on enrollment, about 98 percent do not require masks, according to data company Burbio’s school policy tracker.
Still, the agency’s guidelines remain important as a baseline. When cities or states try to go beyond what the CDC recommends, they may face pushback.
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