Washington aligns with CDC, recommends reduced quarantine for COVID-19 cases

The Washington State Department of Health has officially aligned its COVID-19 isolation and quarantine guidance with new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Washington sees ‘rapid rise’ of omicron variant cases leading into holiday season

Moving forward, the recommended time for isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19 has been reduced from 10 days to five, regardless of vaccination status. If someone is presenting with no symptoms on the fifth day, they should spend the next five days continuing to wear a mask around others. If symptoms resurface, quarantine should immediately resume, pending a negative COVID-19 test.

For those who are unvaccinated and are exposed to COVID-19 but have not tested positive, the CDC recommends a five day quarantine with another five days of “strict mask use.” The same goes for anyone who received their COVID vaccine more than six months ago and has not received a booster shot. If you’re vaccinated, no quarantine is necessary following exposure, but 10 days of mask wearing is still recommended.

“It remains important for community members to know about changes to this guidance,” state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said in a news release. “The key remains recognizing we all have to work together to protect ourselves and those around us.”

Not all public health experts agree with the CDC on the idea that a negative test isn’t necessary after five days of isolation, particularly when it comes to returning to the workplace.

“There are about 20-30% of people who will have (COVID-19) for a longer time period,” says Dr. Ali Mokdad with UW’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. “With omicron — which spreads so fast — to allow 20-30% of people to come back to work while they are still infectious is irresponsible.”

“We all believe that we need to cut down the [isolation and quarantine] time from 10 days, but we need to do it responsibly, and make sure that we test somebody before they come back to work,” he added.

Mokdad warns that not including a negative test requirement following a five-day isolation period “will backfire,” given how infectious the omicron variant has proven to be.

The DOH also says people should continue to limit their travel and exposure to large crowds, with COVID-19 cases hitting record levels across the state. An indoor mask mandate remains in place as well.

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