As summer heats up, new COVID variants are driving up cases and emergency room visits across much of the country.
The suite of COVID strains dubbed “FLiRT” variants are dominating the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variants, identified as KP.1.1, KP.3 and KP.2, collectively account for more than 54% of COVID cases in the U.S., the CDC’s most recent variant-tracking data revealed.
With cases and hospitalizations rising, what should you do if you get infected? If you got COVID in the past few months or years, chances are the guidelines are different now, as the CDC made significant changes earlier this year.
This is what you need to know:
In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID guidelines to reflect guidance for other respiratory infections. People who have contracted COVID-19 no longer need to stay away from others for five days, the CDC said, effectively eliminating the five-day isolation recommendation.
People can return to work or normal activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and they have not had a fever for a day. However, the CDC still recommends that people with symptoms stay home.
“The recommendations suggest resuming normal activities when symptoms generally improve for at least 24 hours and, if fever was present, it has resolved without the use of antipyretic medications,” the guideline said.
Once activities resume, the CDC still recommends practicing “additional prevention strategies” for five days, including wearing a mask and staying distanced from others.
The agency stresses that people should try to prevent infections in the first place by getting vaccinated, washing their hands and taking measures to bring in more fresh air.
As part of the guidelines, the CDC suggests the following:
- To stay up to date with vaccination to protect people from serious illness, hospitalization, and death. This includes influenza, COVID-19, and RSV where eligible.
- Maintain good hygiene by covering your mouth and throat when coughing and sneezing, washing or disinfecting your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
- Taking steps for cleaner airsuch as bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying the indoor air or meeting outside.
The change comes at a time when COVID-19 is no longer the public health threat it once was, having fallen from the nation’s third leading cause of death at the start of the pandemic to 10th last year.
Most people have some immunity to the coronavirus from previous vaccinations or infections, and many people aren’t adhering to the five-day isolation guidelines anyway, some experts say.