State of California relaxes COVID-19 guidelines
SACRAMENTO - COVID-19 guidelines have changed for the state of California.
These guidelines are not coming from the CDC directly, but rather from the California Department of Public Health. Statewide COVID guidelines are now the most relaxed they've been since the start of the pandemic.
Dr. Dean Blumberg of UC Davis Children's Hospital says, "What they've done is take the new COVID guidelines to reflect more immunity within our communities including children."
When a person tests positive, instead of isolating for at least 5 days, they can go to school or work as soon as they haven't had a fever for 24 hours.
"The new guidelines allow children to return sooner for asymptomatic children who are infected; they can return without restrictions," says Dr. Blumberg.
Kids who test positive for COVID and who aren't showing symptoms are able to head off to school; it's just recommended they wear a mask for 10 days indoors. The same goes for adults in the workplace.
Nick Manuselis, a parent, says, "If they don't have a temperature for 24 hours, I think it is reasonable for healthy kids to go to school." "What that reflects is that we really value children's education and we realize how much of an impact COVID has had on children's learning," says Dr. Blumberg.
"I do have school-age kids," says Manuselis, "they missed a lot and it affected them greatly, too." Of course, if parents are concerned, there are measures they can take to reduce the risk of infection.
"These include things like making sure their children are up to date on their vaccination," says Dr. Blumberg, "and some parents may choose to continue to have their children mask while at school."
The same goes for the workplace.
"I mean, if you're not feeling good then you can make your own decision. I think it's great everybody is getting back to normal. The only people who know our bodies are ourselves," says CJ Sims.
"To me it's just another sickness," says another man. "I think they should be allowed to go back to work."
"COVID is not quite there yet, but it's becoming like influenza and other winter respiratory viruses," says Dr. Blumberg.
The state's guidelines are relatively new, so it will take a while for schools to follow suit, but each school district has the option to have more strict guidelines if they wish.
