MDH announces new quarantine guidelines

The Minnesota Department of Health announced at a media conference Dec. 7 that it would adopt the most recent CDC changes in quarantine recommendations.

Quarantine and isolation are critical tools to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Quarantine is when there is a known exposure but no symptoms are present yet. (Isolation occurs when the person exposed has tested positive.)

The optimal protection is 14 days, said MDH Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresman. “It’s our hope that if you’re able to, you do quarantine for two weeks, but we know for so many, that has been a challenge.” Because the risk of infectiousness is significantly higher in the early days of the disease, the CDC developed some new guidelines with two less restrictive models.

“The goal is to get increased compliance,” expressed MN Governor Tim Walz. “By following the guidelines carefully, there will be fewer quarantine-related disruptions.” Walz said that a 14-day quarantine is still the default model, because the science on that has not changed. But the science is being refined, he explained, and if it results in increased compliance and reduced transmission, that’s a net gain for public health. 

Under special conditions, there are now two other models for those who have had a high-risk exposure to COVID-19:

• A 10-day quarantine, if you haven’t tested positive, have had no symptoms, and will be vigilant about watching symptoms until day 14. You must continue to mask; maintain a 6-foot distance from others; and isolate, as well as get tested as soon as possible if you develop any symptoms of COVID-19.
•  A seven-day quarantine if the above conditions can be met and if you get tested (and are negative) via the PCR saliva, nose, or throat test a full five days after the start of the quarantine period.

The new shortened quarantine models are not recommended if you have a household exposure (too difficult to quarantine separately, and household exposures have a very high rate of transmission). It is also not recommended for those in healthcare; for those living in or working at congregate living situations, or nursing homes; or those who work in correctional facilities or shelters.

Ehresman stressed that people quarantining with the new models must be “very mindful, and careful to consider of any kind of new symptom at all” when thinking about cutting short these times. “You need to self-monitor, and still mask and maintain six feet of distance. This requires a great deal of personal responsibility,” she said.

The new guidelines can be viewed at the MDH website at health.state.mn.us. You can read specifics there, but please only call the Mille Lacs Health System Nurse COVID Hotline if you have symptoms and need to get tested; do not call that number for quarantine or other health-related questions.