Given the impracticality of continuously testing people diagnosed with COVID-19 to determine whether they remain infectious, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance this week on a symptom-based strategy for discontinuing isolation of persons with COVID-19. In a May 3 memo, the agency outlined the evidence regarding how long infected people continue to shed the virus and recommended the period of isolation be extended from 7 to 10 days after illness onset and at least 3 days post recovery. “This more cautious approach is intended to more stringently limit transmissions that may occur from persons following recovery from illness and thereby enhance ongoing efforts to control COVID-19 illness,” the memo stated. (CDC memo, 5/3/20)
