BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County has officially changed its quarantine guidelines to be more in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control's updated guidelines and New York State's updated guidance on releasing individuals from quarantine.
The CDC says that residents should follow the instructions of their county's heath department when quarantining. Here's what that now looks like in Erie County.
If placed under a quarantine order by the county or the state due to close contact with a COVID-19 case, individuals will now have to stay home and not leave their houses for 10 days. They may leave quarantine if no symptoms arise in those 10 days. Previously, this was 14 days.
Quarantined individuals will still have to monitor symptoms for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms at day 10 and are permitted to leave quarantine by contact tracers.
“While in quarantine and through day 14 past your last date of exposure, anyone who develops COVID-like symptoms at any point should seek a diagnostic test immediately,” explained Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County's Commissioner of Health.
“Those individuals should assume that they are infectious, and act accordingly to isolate from others in a household and stay home from all activities.”
The county is also still advising and highly recommending that anyone with close contact or household contact to a COVID-19 case get a test five to seven days after the last date of exposure.
“This will surely cause questions among people that our contact tracers are notifying,” said Dr. Burstein. “The 14-day quarantine period has been in place since the beginning of this pandemic, and our contact tracers and call center are prepared to answer questions on this change.”
If you or someone you know becomes symptomatic for COVID-19, they should self-isolate from others (in a bedroom or room of their house) and contact the county or their doctor and make them aware, so they can be advised on testing.
For more information from Erie County and the CDC, click on the following links:
- ECDOH, COVID-19, Isolation and Quarantine: http://www.erie.gov/covid19/iq
- CDC, Options to Shorten Quarantine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html
- CDC, Quarantine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine.html
- CDC, Isolation: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/isolation.html