ADPH: Schools should follow CDC guidance on COVID

August 17, 2022

WVUA 23 Digital,

The Alabama Department of Public Health is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new COVID-19 recommendations for schools and updated quarantine and isolation guidance for adults.

The CDC has relaxed its COVID-19 guidance for people who are exposed or infected to try to minimize the disruption to their lives.

New guidance for schools includes:

Quarantines and screening testing is no longer recommended.
Masking remains recommended for everyone in schools in areas with a high COVID-19 community level.
Students no longer need to stay within the same groups throughout the day.
Students and staff exposed to COVID-19 no longer need to quarantine unless they’re in a high-risk setting.
- Students and staff exposed to COVID-19 should wear a mask for 10 days and get tested at least five days after exposure.
Educators should make reasonable modifications so children with disabilities and special health care needs can access in-person education.

Guidelines for the public include:

People exposed to COVID-19 no longer need to quarantine regardless of vaccination status.
- People exposed to COVID-19 should wear a mask for 10 days while in indoor public spaces and get tested at least five days after exposure.
People with COVID-19 symptoms or infection should isolate from others, even if they are waiting for test results.
- Those who are infected should stay in isolation for at least five days.
- Those who are infected can end isolation on day six if they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without medication and symptoms are improving.
- Those who were infected should continue to wear a mask around others through day 10 or until they have two consecutive negative antigen tests taken at least 48 hours apart.
Avoid people who are at high risk of severe illness until at least day 11.

The CDC no longer recommends screening asymptomatic people without known exposures unless they are in a high-risk setting.