Doctor: College Kids Coming Home For Holidays Should Quarantine For 5-7 Days

(CBS4) -- While many college students in Colorado have been learning remotely since Thanksgiving, many others will be wrapping up the fall semester in the next few days and heading home for winter break. We talked to a doctor at UCHealth who said students should consider quarantining for five to seven days.

Dr. John Prucha said that could mean staying in a room, basement, or separate part of the home.

Dr. Prucha said he knows this is not ideal, but says it is the best option to protect your family.

"A lot of them are coming home to multi-generational families, there are elderly parents with co-morbid conditions... diabetes, lung disease," he said. "That can put other people at really high risk."

"If the kids have symptoms they definitely need testing," Dr. Prucha said. But he pointed out that you can be contagious without showing symptoms so you can't really trust how you feel.

Importantly, if the shorter quarantine of five to seven days is used, Dr. Prucha said it is critical to get tested between day 5 and day 7 and obtain those test results before ending quarantine.