The CDC finally has a simple interactive tool that tells you when to test yourself and how long to quarantine if you're exposed to COVID. Here's how it works.
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- The CDC has released a new quiz that tells you the best time to test, how long to isolate, and whether to wear a mask if you've been exposed to COVID.
- The tool only requires answering a few simple questions, yielding answers in 3-4 clicks.
- Insider reporter Hilary Brueck tried it out, and explains how to use it.
After two years of confusing guidance on when to isolate or quarantine for COVID-19, how to test, when to re-emerge into society, and how long to keep masking afterwards, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has at long last designed a simple, 3-to-4-click tool for determining exactly how long to isolate and/or wear a mask around other people, if you have:
- been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, or
- tested positive for COVID-19 yourself.
The tool — similar to an online quiz — is a more personalized, straightforward approach than the fine-print-laden guidelines the CDC came up with last winter.
Here's a quick primer on how to use the helpful new tool.
Head to the Quarantine and Isolation page on the CDC's website, and click on 'get started'
CDC
A blue and white pop-up should load on your screen. Click the option that pertains to your situation: have you tested positive already, or were you just exposed to someone else with COVID?
CDC
Keep in mind that if you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, and did contract the virus, your test may not turn positive until several more days have passed. During that incubation time, you could unknowingly infect others.
Be cautious for 10 days, regardless of whether you were exposed, or tested positive yourself
If you've been around someone who had COVID, but have not tested positive yourself, the tool will ask some questions about whether or not you've recently had COVID.
CDC
A prior Delta infection cannot necessarily protect you against the currently-circulating Omicron variant and its sublineages, but a prior Omicron infection likely means you're well-protected against reinfection, at least for now.
If you had COVID in the last 90 days, the tool suggests you don't need to isolate at home — unless you develop tell-tale symptoms of the virus. You also don't need to get tested.
For those who haven't had a recent COVID infection who are exposed, the tool suggests you get a test six days after your exposure, and wear a mask for 10 days around other people, just to keep any potential budding germs to yourself:
CDC
If you've tested positive for COVID, the quiz will ask you whether you have symptoms or not
CDC
If you have symptoms of COVID-19, the tool will calculate how long you need to isolate based on when your symptoms began, and whether you have a fever. If you have a fever, the tool asks you to stay home for at least five full days, and then reassess the situation.
CDC
If you have no fever, the tool recommends staying home for a full six days since your symptoms began, and then continuing to wear a mask around others for the remaining four days that you could likely still be infectious.
Most people are infectious before they test positive, and stay that way for about a week, but individual cases vary
barleyman/Getty Images
If you don't show any signs or symptoms of infection (pretty common with COVID) the tool will calculate how long you need to isolate based on when you tested positive, recommending a full six days at home after your positive test, and then wearing a mask for four days beyond that, when around others.
Regardless of which option applies to you, the goal is to keep your germs to yourself (by isolating, and then masking up around others who could get sick) for at least a full 10 days from a positive test, COVID exposure, or symptom onset.
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