CDC reduces quarantine recommendations to 7 to 10 days

Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, announced this change on Tuesday at a meeting at the White House of the coronavirus task force, according to the New York Post. The new recommendation will be for people to end their self-isolation after 10 days without a negative test, or 7 days with one.

It should be noted that the CDC only provides recommendations. Local, regional and national authorities and legislators have the final word on any potential restrictions due to the pandemic.

Published guidelines on the part of the CDC confirming this reduction in the number of days should be forthcoming "soon" according to what Dr. Redfield indicated at the meeting.

The reduction came after the White House, and Vice President Mike Pence in particular, have been asking for a revision of CDC guidelines for months.

The definition of "exposure," however will not change, and remains as "multiple encounters with an infected person or exposures adding up to a total of 15 minutes spent six feet or closer to an infected person."

The CDC still highly recommends masks and social distancing as effective measures against the novel coronavirus, no matter what the legal situation may be in one's particular jurisdiction.