CDC Guidelines Change As Omicron Cases Cause Disruptions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that people who test positive for COVID-19 but remain asymptotic can cut their quarantine time in half, from ten days to five. This shift comes in part due to major disruptions causes by rising Omicron cases, with hospitals and airlines in particular struggling to stay fully staffed.

This moment in the pandemic feels a little like living in a contradiction. Cases are rising, yet guidance on certain restrictions is loosening. Hospitals are filling up, yet many infections are mild.

Prof. Gaurav Suri, computational neuroscientist at San Francisco State, and Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, discuss how to live with the threat of Omicron right now.

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