New CDC guidance emphasizes symptoms

Strategy for returning to work shifts away from focusing on testing

Health care professionals who test positive for the coronavirus are being advised they can return to work sooner.

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department is recommending businesses follow updated Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention guidelines for a return to work strategy based on symptoms for the majority of COVID19 cases.

“There search shows that people are no longer infectious after 10 days from symptom onset/ positive test,” says Eddie Withers, epidemiologist with health department.

Withers said that even those who are immunoc ompromised or t hose with a severe C OVID response are infectious no more than 20 days, but he urged discretion for these situations.

“Regarding isolation, we are currently going with the symptom-based strategy,” Withers said. “It basically requires an isolation period of 10 days from symptom onset or date of a positive test result if symptoms were not present.”

Lyn nd a Parker, the health department's clinical operations manager, said many businesses are still following a test-based strategy that requires two negative tests before discontinuing isolation and returning to work.

“Unfortunately, many individuals are scheduling and testing multiple times before they get that negative response,” Parker said.

The latest CDC guidance does not recommend this continued test-based strategy in most cases.

“Ac cum ula tin ge vidence support sending isolation and p rec auti ons for persons with C OVID -19 using a symptom-based st rategy,” the CDC explained in a decision memo. “This update incorporates recent evidence to inform the duration of isolation and p rec auti ons recommended to prevent transmission of SARS- CoV- 2 to others, while limiting unnecessary prolonged isolation and unnecessary use of laboratory testing resources.”

Other specific recommendations included:

•For healthcare professionals who test positive f or COVID- 1 9 but never develop symptoms, isolation and other precautions can be discontinued 10 days after the test, according to the guidance update.

•Healthcare professionals with severe to critical COVID-19 illness or those who are severely immunoc om promised are recommended to stay away from work and take other transmission-based precautions for at least 20 days.

•For asymptomatic s ever elyimmunoc ompromised healthcare professionals who tested positive, they should also stay away from work for 20 days following their initial positive COVID19 test, according to the CDC.