According to the CDC, quarantine can end after a 7-day period with a negative test result, or after a 10-day period without testing.

On Wednesday, December 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines regarding quarantine time for those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus from a 14-day period to a 7- or 10-day, depending on the circumstances. 

However, the CDC still strongly recommends a 14-day quarantine.

"Quarantine is used to separate someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 and may develop illness away from other people. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they have the virus," writes the CDC. "CDC continues to recommend quarantine for 14 days to more completely reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19. CDC recognizes that any quarantine shorter than 14 days balances reduced burden against a small possibility of increasing the spread of the virus."

A 10-day quarantine can "end without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring."

A shortened 7-day period is also an option, according to the CDC, as long as "a diagnostic specimen tests negative" and "no symptoms were reported during daily monitoring." With the testing, the specimen must be collected and tested within 48 hours before the end of quarantine, to allow for any testing delays that may occur. "Quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than after Day 7."

"Modeled estimates of post-quarantine transmission risk quarantine duration.", Courtesy of CDC

Read the full updated guidelines from the CDC.

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