Why One State Refuses To Follow The CDC’s New Shorter COVID Isolation Guidelines

If you live in Michigan, you will still need to adhere to the 10-day COVID isolation and quarantine guidelines, despite the new shortened recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it will not follow the CDC’s shortened COVID isolation and quarantine guidance.

The CDC announced that it reduced the isolation time for those that test positive for COVID to five days, followed by five days of mask-wearing at all times amid the rise in Omicron cases, which are proving to be less severe than the Delta variant.

Quarantine time was also reduced to five days for those that come in contact with a COVID-infected person to five days, followed by five days of mask-wearing.

The change to the isolation and quarantine guidance comes as the Omicron variant accounts for about 59% of all COVID cases as of Dec. 25, according to the CDC.

However, the MDHHS said it intends to “review the supporting evidence behind this guidance, while awaiting additional information from the CDC, specifically for special populations and in high-risk settings.”

The agency said Michiganders will need to continue to follow the CDC’s previous 10-day isolation and quarantine guidance until “additional information becomes available from the CDC” at which time it will update the state’s requirements.

“While the CDC is working on additional information to clarify parts of their updated COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidance released this week, MDHHS strongly encourages all residents to continue to follow Michigan's current quarantine and isolation guidance to keep themselves and their family as safe as possible,” the agency said in a statement.

Michigan has one of the highest rates of COVID cases in the U.S. as the Delta and Omicron variants surge in the region.

Average daily COVID cases in the state as of Wednesday were 12,929, with 232 reported COVID-19 deaths, according to data from the MDHHS.

The MDHHS also said that more than 70% of the state’s residents aged 16 and older have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine.