Quarantine Life

Good grief, they’ve gone and made this so unnecessarily convoluted that I suspect 99% of our family doctors won't even be able to make heads or tails of it.

Let me see if I can untangle this mess for everyone.

1. For those who test positive for COVID: you get a 7-day isolation period—assuming you were asymptomatic, or had mild to moderate symptoms—if:
1. the infection occurs within 4 months of receiving the second dose (or within 2 months if you received the Johnson & Johnson shot),
2. you have already completed a 3-dose series (or 2 doses if using Johnson & Johnson),
3. you recently recovered from the virus within the last 4 months,
4. or if you've been vaccinated twice after having already recovered once (which includes being vaccinated once with Johnson & Johnson).

Everyone else who tests positive is stuck with the standard 10-day isolation.

2. As for those who were in contact with someone positive: the following people are exempt from mandatory self-isolation:
1. anyone who has recovered from the virus within the last 4 months,
2. those who have both recovered and been vaccinated with 2 doses (or 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson),
3. those fully vaccinated with 3 doses (or 2 doses of Johnson & Johnson),
4. or those who received 2 doses (or 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson) within the last 4 months.
These individuals just need to get tested immediately upon finding out they were exposed, and then again 5 to 7 days after the initial contact.

However, a 7-day isolation period still applies to:
1. those whose recovery was more than 4 months ago,
2. those who were vaccinated with 2 doses (or 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson) more than 4 months ago.

For everyone else, it's back to the 10-day isolation rule.

Rachel Gray58 said:https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/guidelines.pdf

Section 1 refers to Procedures for Close Contacts of an Individual with COVID-19 and it states quite explicitly here:

"For close contacts who are part of a group where assessing the spread of infection is vital, it is recommended to undergo RT-PCR or rapid antigen testing within five days of exposure. A negative test result does not affect the duration of quarantine/self-isolation. A positive result requires follow-up processing for the tested individual's close contacts. A positive rapid antigen test should be confirmed via an RT-PCR test."

Then it goes into section 2.1 regarding All symptomatic individuals with clinical suspicion of COVID-19:

"All symptomatic individuals with clinical suspicion of COVID-19—given the worsening epidemiological situation, it is necessary to send all symptomatic persons for testing. For administrative reasons (to facilitate the issuance of a digital health certificate), all positive rapid antigen tests must be confirmed by a PCR test. Whenever possible, and depending on testing capacity and specific circumstances, the PCR test should be used as the primary diagnostic choice. Any symptomatic person indicated for COVID-19 testing must remain in isolation until the results arrive (regardless of whether they took a rapid antigen or PCR test). Close contacts of a symptomatic person awaiting test results must also remain in quarantine—specifically family members and workplace contacts if they are healthcare workers or residential care staff—until the results are in, unless they fall into categories exempt from quarantine (see section 1). In the event of a positive result, the infected individual remains in isolation until they meet the criteria for ending isolation (see section 3), and their close contacts must stay in quarantine unless they belong to the exempt categories mentioned in section 1. Given the significant rise in school-aged children among new cases since the start of the school year, we remind everyone of the need to test students showing symptoms suggestive of COVID-19."

By definition, I should fall under case 2.1... but nowhere does it explicitly mention that a negative test means you can come out of isolation??

Does anyone know if there's any way (maybe through the e-government portal?) to check my isolation status?

I haven't been able to find anything regarding the second part, even though I did some digging.
As for the first point—you might want to take another look at this, because the updated guidelines are actually listed right here:

https://www.cdc.gov/example-document-version-17.pdf

Essentially, it all comes down to your history—whether you've had it before, if you're vaccinated, or if you're unvaccinated—which then dictates the isolation period after you test. At most, the government will likely just provide you with a rapid test right now, since waiting for a PCR can take days. Until that result comes back, you aren't technically "officially" in isolation; you're just acting on suspicion while waiting for the lab work. That said, the expectation is that you act as if you do have it—meaning, please don't go wandering around out and about!

Does anyone happen to know how they categorize someone who, say, got their first shot, recovered from the illness, and then went on to get their second dose?
Would they be counted under

a) those vaccinated with two doses
b) those who had the illness and were then vaccinated with two doses

I'm asking because once that 120-day mark hits, the reporting rules start to diverge, right?😁

I’m honestly exhausted from trying to make sense of their writing. It feels like someone with a serious cognitive deficit sat down to draft them.

Why just say something clearly when you can overcomplicate it until it's complete nonsense? That’s just how they work, I guess.

We just got a notification from the school today saying one student tested positive, but they’re only requiring one close contact to isolate—everyone else stays in class. 🤦
So, this student had a headache without a fever for three days, and their home test was negative; it wasn't until the fourth day that a positive PCR result finally showed up. For those three days, kids were sitting in a classroom for four hours straight without masks, yet only the one person who happened to be within arm's reach for those four hours has to isolate, while everyone else breathing that same air stays put.
Now, I try not to label people as intellectually backward just because of a few bad calls or poorly phrased sentences, but this recommendation? This decision simply defies common sense.
Just a month ago, an entire class had to switch to remote learning because of a single student, and within ten days, six more kids developed symptoms. Now Omicron is here, which makes the protection from that previous outbreak basically non-existent. For ten days, the media has been sounding the alarm about the healthcare system being overwhelmed and doctors and nurses being completely exhausted, yet they decide to scrap isolation requirements for about 90% of people because most have either been vaccinated or recovered from Delta over the last four months.
Given that, shouldn't we expect the whole class to be infected within ten days? Between the fifteen students and their families at home, we’re looking at nearly a hundred people affected by just one positive test. And then we’ll get to read all about how the system is overloaded again!?

Everything you need to know right here: how many days you actually need to quarantine if you’re feeling sick or were just around someone who is.

https://www.nytimes.com/news/us/health/cdc-quarantine-guidelines-update

hollowfox3 said:Everything you need to know right here: how many days you actually need to quarantine if you’re feeling sick or were just around someone who is.

https://www.nytimes.com/news/us/health/cdc-quarantine-guidelines-update

Extremely helpful update. Honestly, why couldn't they have just made this clear from the start?

coastaltiger7 said:They're refunding the difference. It’s probably not the full amount, but I guess they'll give you something back.

So, when does that refund actually hit the bank account? Which month are we talking about?

Hi there, I have a quick question about how long isolation actually lasts.
If it says my isolation goes until January 19th, does that mean it ends once that day hits, or am I still stuck inside on the 19th?
For context, I tested positive this past Tuesday, January 11th.

Looks like you're stuck in a 7-day quarantine, so you should be good to go by the 19th.

silentsurfer95 said:Hi there, I have a quick question about how long isolation actually lasts.
If it says my isolation goes until January 19th, does that mean it ends once that day hits, or am I still stuck inside on the 19th?
For context, I tested positive this past Tuesday, January 11th.

Without getting bogged down in the complexities of how they calculate these things—since their math can be a bit of a mess sometimes—when something is bolded like that in American English usage, it implies that the specific day mentioned is included within the timeframe, rather than being the cutoff point before it starts.

silentsurfer95 said:Hi there, I have a quick question about how long isolation actually lasts.
If it says my isolation goes until January 19th, does that mean it ends once that day hits, or am I still stuck inside on the 19th?
For context, I tested positive this past Tuesday, January 11th.

The part about when they tested positive is kind of useless here since we don't know if they're even showing symptoms or not.

Karen Patel41 said:Without getting bogged down in the complexities of how they calculate these things—since their math can be a bit of a mess sometimes—when something is bolded like that in American English usage, it implies that the specific day mentioned is included within the timeframe, rather than being the cutoff point before it starts.

That’s right. That day is included. Basically, his isolation lasts until 11:59 PM on January 19th.

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So, quick question: if someone caught COVID about three months ago—they’ve got the official doctor's note and a negative PCR, basically just proof of antibodies—are they exempt from isolating if their kid tests positive?

coastalmarlin64 said:So, quick question: if someone caught COVID about three months ago—they’ve got the official doctor's note and a negative PCR, basically just proof of antibodies—are they exempt from isolating if their kid tests positive?

Based on the most recent CDC guidelines, I think they’d be exempt for about 4 months, I guess.

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mellowskipper said:That’s right. That day is included. Basically, his isolation lasts until 11:59 PM on January 19th.

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The test is on the 11th.
Quarantine is either 7 or 10 days.
Jan 11th is Day Zero.
From the 12th to the 18th is the 7-day stretch.
The 19th is when you're free.

Unless it's a 10-day isolation starting from when symptoms show up—and we don't know which day that was.
If that's the case, I'm with you: "until the 19th" means they include the 19th itself.

Sarah Ross21 said:I’m honestly exhausted from trying to make sense of their writing. It feels like someone with a serious cognitive deficit sat down to draft them.

Why just say something clearly when you can overcomplicate it until it's complete nonsense? That’s just how they work, I guess.

Don't tell me this whole thing is because of that cooling system post.😁
Agreed.
Mandatory vaccines, period. And scrap all the testing unless we're talking about people in hospitals or nursing homes.
Get rid of all the quarantine nonsense and self-isolation rules.

Let me explain why.

Picture this: a 5th-grade classroom where five or six kids clearly have COVID—symptoms are obvious and home tests are positive—so they all switch to remote learning. Meanwhile, the local health official can't do anything, not even mandate isolation, because nobody has an "official" positive result from a doctor yet. Why? Because everyone's stuck waiting days for a clinic appointment.
The teacher is the only one with an official lab result, but she got it five days after being exposed to the kids.
So what's the point of all this massive testing? The lines, the costs, just wearing out everyone from patients to doctors?
For most people, it’s basically a bad cold, except for the elderly and the unvaccinated.

Another example: seeing someone on the street for 15 minutes isn't the same as sharing a bed with them. And under these rules, the person sharing a bed and an apartment 24/7 isn't considered "exposed" just because they had their shot.

velvethawk682 said:So, when does that refund actually hit the bank account? Which month are we talking about?

Can I get the claim filed right away, or am I stuck waiting until after the reduced paycheck actually clears...

Just get the application in right away.
If I remember correctly, the payout went out on the 17th or 18th.

I’m starting to feel like self-isolation is just losing its purpose at this point... I mean, between how much the virus has spread and the fact that people aren't really reporting their contacts anyway—not to mention they won't even bother getting tested if they ignore their symptoms to figure out if it's actually COVID or not—it feels a bit futile. It seems like the contact tracers aren't even keeping up anymore, and honestly, I doubt there's even any real oversight on who's staying home and who isn't like there used to be (if there even was any oversight to begin with... maybe?). I really think we could just scrap it.