The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cut the amount of time it recommends people should isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus, reducing the number of days from 10 to five.
Health officials similarly reduced the amount of time a person should quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tests positive.
The changes come amid a surge in cases spurred by the Omicron variant and concerns about staffing shortages at hospitals, airlines and businesses across the country. Research has suggested Omicron, while more infectious, causes milder illness. CDC officials say the new guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the country is about to see a lot of Omicron cases.
Read the full story from USA Today here.