Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday the CDC might adopt a new testing recommendation for Americans looking to leave isolation after five days – a measure which would come while COVID-19 test shortages are already plaguing the nation as the omicron variant of the coronavirus surges.
The revelation comes about a week after the CDC shortened its recommended isolation and quarantine period for those who test positive for COVID-19 and remain without symptoms from ten to just five days. After the five days, those individuals should wear masks while in public for another five days.
Fauci said Sunday that he believes people coming out of isolation after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis should be re-tested, teasing that the CDC could announce new guidance in the coming days.
“You’re right, people are getting concerned about why not test people at that time,” Fauci told CNN’s Dana Bash on “Face the Nation” Sunday. “I myself feel that that’s a reasonable thing to do. I believe that the CDC soon will be coming out with more clarification of that, since it obviously has generated a number of questions about at that five-day period: should you or should you not be testing people?”
As of now there is no requirement or even recommendation from the CDC that Americans with COVID-19 who are coming out of isolation be tested. But testing shortages are already gripping the country.
Americans waited for hours in long lines at testing sites as the omicron variant surged over the holiday season, especially after gatherings for Christmas. The White House said Americans would have to wait at least several weeks for the rollout of promised at-home testing kits.
Fauci echoed his sentiment during another appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”