CDC says recommended quarantine time after COVID-19 exposure may be shortened to 7 or 10 days, down from 14

The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the recommended days a person must quarantine after coronavirus exposure from 14 days to seven or 10 days.

The new guidelines announced Wednesday say people who have close contact with an infected person can end their quarantine after seven days if they receive a negative test or after 10 days without a test.

The CDC defines close contact as 15 minutes total spent 6 feet or closer to an infected person. Dr. Henry Walke, incident manager for the CDC’s COVID-19 response, said people should still monitor for symptoms 14 days after exposure.