Mich. won't follow CDC relaxed COVID-19 quarantine recommendations

 The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services said it won't adopt new, shorter federal COVID-19 isolation/quarantine guidelines until it reviews "the supporting evidence ... while awaiting additional information, ... specifically for special populations and in high-risk settings."

Rather, Michigan health leaders say they will continue to recommend previous, longer quarantine and isolation guidelines, including those for K-12 schools and congregate care settings.

"MDHHS will update Michigan’s guidance when additional information becomes available from the CDC," said a statement issued Wednesday night. 

"The delta variant has already fueled the current surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations. The high transmissibility of the omicron variant underscores the importance of Michiganders practicing the COVID mitigation practices that are known to reduce spread and risk."

Michigan broke a pandemic record Wednesday for new daily cases. State health officials reported a two-day total of 25,858 confirmed cases — an average of 12,929 per day.

The previous single-day high was 9,779 cases set on Nov. 20, 2020, according to a Free Press analysis of state data. It comes as the percentage of positive tests climbed above 28% Tuesday and hospitalizations from the virus rose slightly. 

The MDHHS statement means state health leaders continue to suggest the following isolation and quarantine protocols for Michiganders: 

• If you are sick, have symptoms and have either tested positive or suspect you may have COVID-19: Isolate until it's been at least 10 days since symptoms appeared and at least 24 hours without fever and without the use of fever-reducing medicine and symptoms have improved.
• If you test positive for the virus but are asymptomatic: Stay home until after 10 days have passed since your positive test. If you develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the steps above for those who are sick.
• If you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, but are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic: You do not have to quarantine. You should get tested 5-7 days after exposure and wear a mask around others for 14 days or until you test negative.
• If you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 but are not fully vaccinated: Quarantine for 14 days after your last contact with the person who has COVID-19, avoid others, especially those at high risk for severe illness from the virus, and contact your local health department for more options. 
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday it was cutting the recommended isolation period after testing positive for coronavirus from 10 days to five as long as a person is asymptomatic and continues to wear a mask for five additional days around other people. 

That's because the agency said new data suggests the omicron variant of the virus is most transmissible one to two days before the onset of symptoms and two to three days after. The omicron variant was estimated to account for about 59% of all U.S. coronavirus cases as of Dec. 25.  

The agency also updated the quarantine period for people who were exposed to the virus.

Under those newer CDC guidelines, those who are unvaccinated or who have not yet gotten a booster if it's been more than six months since the last shot of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or more than two months following a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, must quarantine for five days and wear a mask for an additional five days.

Those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted if they're eligible do not have to quarantine after an exposure to a person with the virus, but should wear a mask around others for 10 days post-exposure, per the CDC's recommendations. 

Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said the CDC issued its new guidance without providing supporting research that shows people infected with the omicron variant clear the virus faster than those who had the delta strain. 

"If viral clearance with Omicron is the same as Delta, then this policy change could lead to significant community spread because people would leave isolation while contagious," Jetelina wrote. "The CDC may have evidence ... that Omicron is cleared faster, but it hasn’t been publicly shared yet. This information is critical."

Testing, she said, also is a component that should have been included in the CDC's new isolation and quarantine guidelines. 

"It’s incredibly odd to me that the CDC decided not to end isolation contingent on a negative antigen test (or better yet two)," Jetelina wrote. "Past studies have shown that some people stop shedding live virus very fast. But other people, especially unvaccinated, shed live virus well past 5 days."

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that CDC's updated recommendations "balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives."

https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2021/12/29/michigan-covid-19-quarantine-isolation-guidelines-dont-follow-cdc-recommendations/9051085002/