Updated CDC Respiratory Virus (COVID) Update
The Centers for Disease Control released updated recommendations for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. The new guidance brings a unified approach to addressing risks from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV, which can cause significant health impacts and strain on hospitals and health care workers. The CDC is making updates to the recommendations now because the United States is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
Recommendations for when you may have a respiratory virus include staying home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that are not better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.
Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Each time that you come back to work from COVID restrictions, the additional precautions mentioned above should be implemented.
