CDC Expected to Ease COVID-19 Recommendations for Schools This Week

According to sources familiar with the plan, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to update its guidance for COVID control in the community, including in schools, in the coming days.

A preview of the plans obtained by media outlet CNN showed that the updated COVID recommendations are expected to ease quarantine recommendations for people exposed to the coronavirus and de-emphasize six feet of social distancing.

The federal agency is also expected to de-emphasize regular screening testing for COVID-19 in schools to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, according to sources who were briefed on the CDC's plans but were not authorized to speak to a reporter. Instead, the agency said it might be more useful to base testing on COVID-19 community levels and whether settings are higher-risk, such as prisons or nursing homes.

Changes may be publicly released this week

The changes, which may be publicly released as early as this week, were already previewed to public health officials and educators. They are still being deliberated, though, and are not final. The CDC said in a statement that the agency is always evaluating its guidance as science changes and will update the public as it occurs.

The agency would also soon remove a recommendation that students exposed to COVID take regular tests to stay in the classroom as part of the expected changes. The test to stay strategy was recommended by the CDC back in December, during the first Omicron wave, to keep unvaccinated children who were exposed but did not have symptoms in the classroom instead of being quarantined at home.

One source said the test-to-stay was resource-intensive for schools, and some districts had voiced concerns about having enough money to continue the program. The CDC will no longer recommend staying at least six feet away from other people as a protective measure in schools and beyond.

The new guidelines instead aim to help people understand which kinds of settings are riskier than others because of things like crowds, poor ventilation, and personal characteristics like underlying health and age.

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CDC set to ease quarantine requirements for unvaccinated people

The agency is also set to ease quarantine requirements for unvaccinated people or not up to date on their COVID vaccines. Currently, the CDC recommends that people who are not up to date on their COVID shots stay at home for at least five days after close contact with someone who tests positive for the coronavirus. They won't have to wait at home, but they should wear a mask and test at least five days after exposure.

However, the CDC is expected to tell people sick with the coronavirus to still isolate themselves. The CDC also plans to re-emphasize the importance of building ventilation to help stop the spread of COVID and other respiratory diseases. The agency plans to encourage schools to do more to clean and refresh their indoor air.

Dr. David Quimby, an infectious disease expert with CHI Health, told KETV they know that children being in school is a good thing.

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