Asks residents to take responsibility for household quarantine and isolation

Pierce County Public Health is notifying residents that, due to an increase in COVID-19 cases as well as an increased use of at-home tests, not all positive cases of COVID-19 will be contacted by the department. PCPH requests that families with a positive in the household review the CDC guidance to determine how long they need to stay home. PCPH created this timeline to assist households. This timeline may be subject to change as more information becomes available.

“While this new guidance provides welcome flexibility for many families, it can be hard to interpret because there are so many variables and caveats. While we await more information from the CDC and WI DHS, we are doing our best to share quarantine and isolation timelines. Because we are only able to contact cases who are at the highest risk for severe illness, residents will need to take responsibility for staying home for the appropriate period of time,” said AZ Snyder, Public Health Director.

Key points to remember about the new CDC guidance:

•Masking is key to making this revised guidance safe to use. People under the age of 2, people who cannot safely mask, or people who decline to mask should quarantine/isolate for 10 days.

•The guidance allows positive cases to be released after five full days, but it requires them to be free of fever and other symptoms should be improving. People who are still not feeling well on Day 6 should remain in isolation.

•Quarantine starts on the date of last contact with the infectious individual. This could be either six or more days (count onset as Day 0, release on Day 6 at the earliest) after the onset of symptoms by the positive case OR the date of complete separation from the positive case (count date of separation as Day 0, release on Day 6 at the earliest). Complete separation means using separate bedrooms and bathrooms and not sharing any common living spaces, like kitchens or living rooms, even at different times. The case must remain confined to a separate bathroom and bedroom in order for the case to be considered fully separated from household members.

•Some fully vaccinated people now need to quarantine. If you have been fully vaccinated but are overdue for a booster (more than six months after your second Pfizer or Moderna dose or more than two months after your J& J dose) and get exposed, you need to quarantine. This is due to mounting evidence that a booster is needed to protect against Omicron.

•People who are boosted or within six months of their second dose of Moderna or Pfizer or within two months of their J& J first dose do not need to quarantine, but should mask around others for 10 days and consider getting tested.

•If your school or employer has chosen to use more restrictive guidance, as this new guidance does come with some risks, please follow your school’s or employer’s guidance.

Further information on quarantine and isolation can be found by visiting CDC or WI DHS.

Pierce County reminds residents to sign up for vaccines and booster doses by visiting https://piercecountycovid19vaccine.as.me/sched ule.php Submitted by Pierce County Public Health