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Erie County Department of Health changes quarantine guidance

UPDATED

Mon, Dec 28th 2020 06:05 pm

Quarantine time period shifts from 14 days to 10 days

Following an update by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) on COVID-19 quarantine requirements, the Erie County Department of Health has changed the time period for quarantine from 14 days to 10 days past last exposure.

Starting today, individuals placed under quarantine by ECDOH can end quarantine after 10 days if no symptoms have been reported during the quarantine period.

ECDOH continues to strongly recommend a diagnostic COVID test five to seven days following the date of last exposure for anyone who is close or household contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case.

“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 Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “Those individuals should assume that they are infectious, and act accordingly to isolate from others in a household and stay home from all activities.”

Other requirements for individuals under quarantine include:

√ Individuals must continue daily symptom monitoring through day 14

√ Individuals must be counseled to continue strict adherence to all recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions, including hand hygiene and the use of face coverings, through day 14

√ Individuals must be advised that, if any symptoms develop, they should immediately self-isolate and contact the local public health authority or their health care provider to report this change in clinical status and determine if they should seek testing.

“This will surely cause questions among people that our contact tracers are notifying,” Burstein said. “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.”

Quarantine documents and other information on the ECDOH website will be updated this week.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced updated quarantine guidelines for New York, which are consistent with the latest Centers for Disease Control guidance.

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