Michigan Health Dept. holds off on adopting new CDC COVID guidelines

As the highly infectious new Omicron variant spreads rapidly in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is offering new guidelines on quarantines for Americans who test positive for COVID-19. The CDC is now recommending five days of quarantine instead of ten. But the Michigan Health Department, according to the Detroit Free Press, is holding off on adopting these new guidelines.

In an official statement issued on Wednesday night, December 29, the Michigan Health Department announced that it “will update Michigan’s guidance when additional information becomes available from the CDC.”

"The Delta variant has already fueled the current surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations,” the Michigan Health Department explained. “The high transmissibility of the Omicron variant underscores the importance of Michiganders practicing the COVID mitigation practices that are known to reduce spread and risk.”

Detroit Free Press reporter Kristen Jordan Shamus notes that on December 29, Michigan “broke a pandemic record” for new COVID-19 cases. Health officials in the midwestern state, according to Shamus, “reported a two-day total of 25,858 confirmed cases — an average of 12,929 per day.”

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Shamus explains, “The previous single-day high was 9779 cases, set on November 20, 2020, according to a Free Press analysis of state data. It comes as the percentage of positive tests climbed above 28% Tuesday and hospitalizations from the virus rose slightly.”

In contrast to the CDC, the Michigan Health Department recommends, “If you are sick, have symptoms and have either tested positive or suspect you may have COVID-19: Isolate until it's been at least ten days since symptoms appeared and at least 24 hours without fever and without the use of fever-reducing medicine and symptoms have improved…. If you test positive for the virus but are asymptomatic: Stay home until after ten days have passed since your positive test. If you develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the steps above for those who are sick.”