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Covid-19 quarantine guidelines for contact tracing updated

ByFree Press Staff Reading Time: 2 minutes

Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated quarantine guidance for people who have been identified as a close contact to a positive Covid-19 person.

There are now three options for a quarantine period for close contacts.

  1. Quarantine would end after day 14 if the person has not developed any symptoms. This is the ideal quarantine to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and recommended for those who work with high-risk population or for those who can work remotely.
  2. Quarantine could end after Day 10 if the person has not had a Covid-19 test and has not developed any symptoms. (see * below)
  3. Quarantine could end after Day 7 if the person tested negative for Covid-19 on day 5, 6, or 7 and has not developed any symptoms. (see * below)

*The 2nd and 3rd alternative options require that the person adhere to strict practices of masking, physical distancing, hand washing and watching for symptoms through day 14. Further information can be found at this link:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html

If any of these practices cannot be followed while performing an activity, then that specific activity may not resume until after day 14.

“We are asking the public and all employers to follow these quarantine guidelines and we support your decision regarding which quarantine option(s) you decide to enact to help protect our community,” Dubois County Health Department Director Shawn Werner said.

There is no guidance change for a positive person. They should continue with the 10-day isolation from symptom onset or 10-day isolation from the positive test date if they did not have any symptoms.

Testing options in Dubois County include:

Dubois/Spencer/Martin County Covid Testing Site at the former Ruxer Golf Course in Jasper is open Tuesday through Saturday. Schedule an appt at https://scheduling.coronavirus.in.gov/

Getting your test results could take several days due to the overwhelming demand at the state laboratories. The state continues to work on decreasing this wait time for these test results.

Once the samples leave our testing site, it is beyond our control when they are processed, so please be patient, Werner noted.

There is no charge for testing at this county site. 

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center will also do testing but you must be symptomatic and have a doctor’s order. Please contact your health care provider for more information. 

Please visit https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2524.htm for testing options outside of Dubois County.

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