CDC Guidance on COVID-19 Isolation: What You Need to Know
When you have a respiratory virus infection, you can spread it to others. How long you’re contagious depends on different factors, including how sick you are and how long your illness lasts. This is not the same for everyone.¹
In March 2024, the CDC updated its recommendations for protecting yourself and others from respiratory viruses like COVID-19, flu, and RSV.² Updates to recommendations were made due to changes in the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, coupled with the increased availability of tools to combat COVID, flu and RSV.³ Here’s the latest guidance and what you need to know:
When You Are Sick:
Prevent spread: Stay home and isolate yourself from others, even those you live with, if you have respiratory virus symptoms, which can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.⁴
Test for COVID-19: This helps determine next steps, such as seeking treatment to reduce the risk of severe illness and taking precautions to minimize the spread of COVID-19.⁵
Seek Medical Care: If you have risk factors for severe illness, seek testing and/or treatment promptly. Treatment within the first few days of symptoms can help reduce the risk of severe illness.⁶
When To Resume Daily Activities
You can resume normal activities when you have experienced both of the following for at least 24 hours: your symptoms are improving overall and you have not had a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medication).⁷
Take extra precautions for the next 5 days. When you resume normal activities, take additional steps to prevent the spread of illness, like improving air quality, practicing good hygiene, wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, and/or testing when you will be around others indoors. This is especially important to protect those at higher risk of severe illness.⁸
Even if you feel better, you might still be contagious. Your level of contagiousness will likely decrease over time, depending on factors like the duration and severity of your illness. Typically, after 5 days, the risk of spreading the virus is much lower.⁹
Prevention Strategies
The CDC recommends the following core prevention strategies:¹⁰
Stay up to date on vaccinations: This protects against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Get vaccinated for flu, COVID-19, and RSV if eligible.
Practice good hygiene: Cover coughs and sneezes, wash or sanitize your hands frequently, and clean surfaces that are often touched. Wearing a mask and maintaining distance from others can help reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Improve air quality: Take steps like increasing ventilation with fresh air, using air purifiers, or gathering outdoors.
These updated guidelines highlight the progress we've made in combating respiratory viruses like COVID-19, but the fight is far from over. By taking these steps and making informed decisions when we're not feeling well, we can build healthier, safer communities for everyone.
¹https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html
²https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0301-respiratory-virus.html
³Ibid.
⁴https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html
⁵https://www.cdc.gov/covid/treatment/index.html
⁶https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html
⁷Ibid.
⁸Ibid.
⁹Ibid.
¹⁰https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/respiratory-virus-guidance.html