America has overhauled their isolation rules
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cut Covid isolation time from 10 days to just five days amid surging Omicron cases.
The guidance, issued across the US on Monday, follows evidence that suggests Covid is most infectious in the two days leading up to showing symptoms and then also in the following three days.
The CDC also said people should continue to wear a face mask five days after leaving isolation in a bid to "minimise the risk of infecting others".
People exposed to the virus who have also received their booster shot need not isolate but are encouraged to wear a mask for at least ten days.
The new strategy hopes to balance "what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses", said DC Director Rochelle Walensky
This comes as Omicron spreads throughout much of the world. On the variant, Walensky stated that "not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are going to be asymptomatic".
She added: "We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science."
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