CDC, Public Health: Repeat testing often not necessary

ALBANY — The Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Public Health have issued a reminder to employers that once a COVID case is confirmed with a test, repeat testing is not necessary for the following 90 days unless the patient develops new COVID symptoms.

Most people can come out of isolation when they meet the following criteria:

— Have isolated 10 days after testing or symptom onset, whichever is first;

— Have had no fever for 24 hours without taking fever reducing meds;

— Symptoms have improved.

Once the time requirement has been met and isolation ends, if the person feels well enough, he or she should then be allowed to return to work.

Severe COVID cases are considered non-contagious after day 20. These are generally people who have had low levels of oxygen or who have required hospitalization. The vast majority of COVID cases are less than severe and are considered non-contagious after the 10th day has passed beyond symptom onset. Asymptomatic cases are considered non-contagious when 10 days have passed since the date of the first positive test.

One reason not to require a COVID survivor to test negative before returning to work is that genetic material from the virus may linger in the nasal passages for months after the virus has been killed by our immune systems. This genetic material is no more than debris and is not harmful, but it can cause artificial positive test results.

Repeat testing of asymptomatic COVID survivors during the 90 days following the onset of infection causes financial hardships on people who are unnecessarily prohibited from work, wastes valuable resources such as clinical staff and laboratory materials, and causes a delay in collecting specimens and obtaining results for patients who actually need testing.

CDC guidance has evolved, and it will continue to evolve. Up-to-date information can be obtained 24 hours a day at the Southwest Health District website at southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/SWGAPublicHealth, via the Georgia COVID Information Line at 1-888-357-0169, and on the Georgia Department of Public Health website at dph.ga.gov.

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