The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the nation should move away from restrictive measures such as quarantines and social distancing and focus on reducing severe disease from COVID-19.
In new guidelines released Thursday, the agency no longer recommends staying at least 6 feet away from other people to reduce the risk of exposure -- a shift from guidance that had been in place since the early days of the pandemic.
The new guidance also does not advise quarantining people who've been exposed to Covid-19 but are not infected. "I think they just overall come into alignment with what people are doing anyway," says Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco.
Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, agrees that the new guidance shows that the CDC is trying to meet people where they are. When the COVID community level is high -- as it currently is in 41 per cent of counties -- the CDC continues to recommend that everyone wear high-quality masks indoors. High-risk people should also wear quality masks when the community level is medium, as it now is in 39 per cent of counties.
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