Two of the most cautious states have bypassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by letting students and workers who have the virus but are asymptomatic avoid isolation.
By Shawn Hubler and Adeel Hassan Food Safe Disposable Gloves
Shawn Hubler reported from Sacramento, and Adeel Hassan from New York.
From the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been doctor’s orders in this country: If you test positive, stay away from other people, even if you aren’t coughing or feverish. In recent months, however, that rule has been relaxed in two of the unlikeliest places.
Oregon and California, among the most cautious of states early in the pandemic, have surprised health officials elsewhere by breaking with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and telling infected workers and schoolchildren that as long as they have no symptoms, they are generally free to go about their lives.
The new approach has been greeted with trepidation by some health experts in the United States, especially as wastewater data shows a surge in cases driven by a new variant. But many scientists say that Covid has transitioned from a public health crisis into more of a featured virus among an array of respiratory risks.
“The emergency has ended. Covid-19 is endemic,” said Dr. Melissa Sutton, medical director for respiratory viral pathogens at the Oregon Health Authority. “We’re in a different phase.”
As vaccinations, antiviral treatments and natural immunity have reduced the mortality rate of Covid, state officials have given more consideration to the societal cost of pandemic constraints.
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