Published Nov 25, 2020

Quarantine Guideline Changes From CDC May Be Coming & Mayo Clinic to Share New Data About Value of Masks During COVID-19

As COVID-19 cases are rising again, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan to release new guidelines concerning how long we should stay in quarantine.

Shelby Black

Details

New Quarantine Guidelines

New quarantine guidelines from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be on the way which will change the self-isolation period from two weeks to seven to 10 days.
New research from The Mayo Clinic found data which proves masks are an extremely effective way to prevent exposure of COVID-19.
Experts tell SurvivorNet that hospitals are taking measures to ensure cancer patients, or those who need screenings, will be safe from being exposed to the virus.

New quarantine guidelines may be coming out just in time for Thanksgiving. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is said to be considering shortening the recommended time for self-isolation, which would mean a possible change to the way we quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19. In addition, the Mayo Clinic has new data to share around the effectiveness of mask wearing.

New Guidelines

Although the CDC hasn’t officially released these recommended guidelines yet, they’re likely to roll out in anticipation of the holiday season. Currently, it’s recommended that we quarantine for up to 14 days if we’ve been in possible contact with someone who has COVID-19. However, under these new guidelines, people would likely only have to self-isolate for a week to 10 days. Some experts claim that shortening this period may lead more people to comply with self-isolation.

These likely guidelines are rolling out just as COVID-19 cases are rising yet again in the United States, and talks of a vaccine are at a peak. Although quarantine guidelines may change, the CDC still recommends people wear masks whenever out in public and maintain social distancing of six feet apart.

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Masks & Exposure to COVID-19

For nearly a year, researchers have been tirelessly trying to study COVID-19 to determine the best way to keep the public safe. Although masks have become a weirdly controversial sticking point among many Americans, new unpublished research from The Mayo Clinic proves how important they are. According to the Mayo Clinic’s data, physical separation of three to fix feet does reduce exposure to COVID-19 and masks play a very important role.

“We found the most important measure for reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is to wear a mask,” Dr. Matthew Callstrom, Chair of the department of radiology at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, says in a statement. “We found that both disposable paper medical masks and two-layer cloth masks were effective in reducing droplet transmission and we did not find a difference between mask types in terms of how well they blocked aerosol particles emitted by the wearer.”

To come to these findings, Mayo Clinic researchers used both masked and unmasked mannequins to measure the exposure to droplets. They found that the mannequins who wore masks were able to avoid exposure to droplets far better than the mannequins who didn’t wear a mask.

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Cancer Care & COVID-19

Since coronavirus is a respiratory virus, cancer patients going through treatment at higher risk of health complications if exposed due to their immune system being compromised. Fear surrounding COVID-19 has impacted cancer care greatly, but hospitals have adjusted to new guidelines to make sure patients, and those who need to get screened, can get the best possible care in a safe environment.

“We know that cancer has not gone away just because we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. “Now that we have a little bit of a better hold on how to protect patients, how to disinfect, how to clean in between patients and scatter so that we’re not crowding our waiting rooms, it’s really, really important to remember to talk to your doctor about your screening mammogram or any other preventative tests that you may need.”

Dr. Elizabeth Comen explains how hospitals are making sure they’re safe during COVID-19

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