Fauci: Shortening COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers is under 'serious consideration'
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
- Dr. Fauci said shortening COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers is under "consideration."
- His comments on CNN come after the CDC said healthcare workers can shorten their isolation period.
- The new guidance comes as the Omicron variant has spread rapidly across the US
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday said shortening the COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers is under "serious consideration."
"The idea about cutting down the period of quarantine for people who have been exposed and perhaps the period of isolation for people who have been infected is something that is under — I would say — serious consideration," the nation's top infectious-disease expert told Kaitlan Collins on CNN's New Day.
"There are a lot of people in society that are essential for the smooth running of the infrastructure of our society," Fauci also said.
Fauci said the consideration for essential workers comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced new guidance for healthcare workers' isolation periods.
On Thursday, the CDC shortened the length of time that healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19 have to isolate — from 10 days to seven, pending a negative test.
The new guidance comes as the Omicron variant has spread rapidly across the US, making up nearly three-quarters of COVID-19 cases, according to the latest CDC data.
Fauci said that he "fully" expects that the current surge of COVID-19 cases in the US will turn around.
"I hope we peak and come down quickly," he said.
He also urged people who have not yet recieved their vaccine booster shot to get it as soon as possible in order to have the best possible protection against COVID-19.
He added: "Boosters are always good for any variant, but particularly for Omicron."
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