Statewide Iowa — State health officials are making a change to the guidelines for quarantining people who’ve been exposed to others who’ve tested positive for COVID-19.
State Medical Director Dr. Caitlin Pedati explains.
(As above) “For non-healthcare, non-residential settings, individuals who, when the case and close contact have been wearing a face covering consistently and correctly for the entire time, will not need to self-quarantine at home.”
However, the new guidelines state that when an unmasked individual tests positive and close contacts were wearing masks, the close contacts need to quarantine for fourteen days.
If the individual who tests positive and only some of their close contacts were wearing masks, the masked close contacts should self-monitor for COVID symptoms over the subsequent fourteen days, staying home if symptoms develop and speak with a healthcare provider about testing in the case of illness. Those who are self-monitoring and become ill but do NOT get tested, should remain home until ten days after their symptoms begin. The unmasked close contacts would need to quarantine for fourteen days.
If an unmasked individual tests positive and close contacts were NOT wearing masks those contacts will need to quarantine for fourteen days.
In all the above scenarios, individuals are considered a close contact when they have been within six feet of the COVID-19 positive individual for fifteen minutes. Individuals who are a close contact due to exposure to a household member are required to quarantine for at least fourteen days. The IDPH says quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Individuals who have the virus must isolate for at least ten days. According to the IDPH, isolation keeps someone who is infected with the virus away from others, even in their home.
The Iowa Department of Public Health says these new guidelines apply to businesses, education and child care settings.
Governor Kim Reynolds says the previous policy led to large numbers of students being quarantined, for example, when just a few positive cases were identified.
For more information from the Iowa Department of Public Health on when to quarantine, CLICK HERE.
