The chief clinical officer for Valleywise Health said it’s too early to tell if recommending a shorter quarantine period for certain people with COVID-19 will prove unsafe.
Critics questioned the move this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cut the prescribed isolation time in half for some who get the virus.
Dr. Michael White said the Omicron variant is highly contagious, but people who get infected can only spread it for a short amount of time.
“The key here is this is really for those folks that are truly asymptomatic at the end of that first five day period,” he said.
White said those who are still outwardly sick after five days should stay in isolation.
More than 90% of the COVID-positive patients hospitalized at Valleywise Health are not fully vaccinated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
