Lincoln – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) today issued updated directions for Nebraskans on COVID-19 quarantine standards.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new recommendations Wednesday following research to better understand when COVID-19 transmission is most likely to occur. The new recommendations shorten the window for quarantine.
For those with a close contact exposure to someone with COVID-19 or anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, quarantine is recommended to limit opportunities for virus transmission to others.
Effective today, quarantine can end after seven (7) days since a COVID-19 close contact only if all of the following conditions have been met:
- The person seeks a COVID-19 test on day five (5) following their exposure to another person testing positive and their test is negative.
- The person is not experiencing symptoms.
- The person continues to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and wears a mask through day 14.
For those who’ve had a close contact exposure to COVID-19 but don’t take a test, quarantine can end when all of the following conditions have been met:
- At least 10 days have passed since close contact exposure.
- No COVID-19 symptoms have developed.
- The person continues to self-monitor for symptoms, and wears a facial covering through day 14.
Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 must isolate for at least 10 days from the date of their test. Isolation can end when the following conditions have been met:
- The person is fever-free without the use of fever reducing medicine for 24 hours.
- Any COVID-19 symptoms are improving, though some symptoms may linger.
The current Directed Health Measures (DHM) will be updated to reflect these changes and take effect today, Thursday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. CT. More on the new guidance is available at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/
