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CDC drops quarantine, screening recommendations for COVID-19

A sign asks those getting vaccinated to keep 6 feet apart during the vaccination event, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif. The CDC has again revised its COVID guidelines, further relaxing quarantine recommendations and dropping the recommendation that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP, File)
A sign asks those getting vaccinated to keep 6 feet apart during the vaccination event, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif. The CDC has again revised its COVID guidelines, further relaxing quarantine recommendations and dropping the recommendation that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP, File) A sign asks those getting vaccinated to keep 6 feet apart during the vaccination event, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif. The CDC has again revised its COVID guidelines, further relaxing quarantine recommendations and dropping the recommendation that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP, File)

By MIKE STOBBE and COLLIN BINKLEY / Associated Press 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – The nation’s top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.

The changes, which come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic, are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said.

“The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” said the CDC’s Greta Massetti, an author of the guidelines.

The CDC recommendations apply to everyone in the U.S., but the changes could be particularly important for schools, which resume classes this month in many parts of the country.