Feeling sick? Don’t spread it to your friends
Cdc guidelines have changed, but still – use common sense when it comes to socializing
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a big announcement.
If you have COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses, you no longer need to isolate for five days before returning to work or school.
Under the new guidelines, people with respiratory illnesses can resume daily activities if they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication (think Tylenol or Advil) and if the symptoms are improving, the CDC said.
The CDC noted that people can be contagious even without those symptoms. So the agency also urged people who end isolation to limit close contact with others, wear well-fitted masks, improve air quality and to practice good hygiene (think washing hands and covering coughs and sneezes) for five days.
The CDC notes the recommendations apply to a wide range of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, the flu and RSV.
Why the changes?
Because the U.S. is “seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV,” the CDC notes.
We’ve made forward progress in protecting against severe illness from COVID-19, the CDC noted.
But some recommendations still remain to maintain that protection, including staying up to date with vaccinations for flu, COVID-19 and RSV, practicing those good hygiene steps, and taking steps for cleaner air, which includes bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air or gathering outdoors, the CDC says.
And the CDC notes that if you do get a respiratory virus, stay home and avoid others.
“The recommendations suggest returning to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication,” the CDC says.
Here’s the request we would make, however – and we don’t think it’s unreasonable.
If you are sick, stay home. It doesn’t matter if it’s COVID or a simple cold. If you are a germy, coughy, snotty, phlegmy mess, please don’t spread it around.
Frankly, we don’t want your germs, nor does anyone else.
The COVID guidelines may have changed, but common sense and courtesy has not.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?
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