CDC Removes Guidelines For 14-Day Quarantine. No Response From States That Instituted One.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed language in its travel guidelines suggesting travelers quarantine for 14 days after they return from overseas trips or out of state.

The new guidelines still emphasize the dangers of catching and spreading COVID-19 while traveling, without explicitly recommending quarantine:

Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

You can get COVID-19 during your travels. You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread COVID-19 to others. You and your travel companions (including children) may spread COVID-19 to other people including your family, friends, and community for 14 days after you were exposed to the virus.

Don’t travel if you are sick or if you have been around someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Don’t travel with someone who is sick.

As Fox News reported, the three governors who instituted mandatory 14-day quarantines for people traveling to their states from 35 states and territories have not responded to the CDC’s updated guidance. The governors of New York (Andrew Cuomo), New Jersey (Phil Murphy), and Connecticut (Ned Lamont), all Democrats, did not respond to requests for comment by the outlet.

Those three states still have 14-day quarantines in effect.

The media and Democrats previously mocked and criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for instituting a 14-day quarantine for travelers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in March, when the coronavirus was wreaking havoc on those states. CNN at the time suggested the move could be a constitutional issue. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time that he understood DeSantis’ order because New York was the epicenter but suggested it was not “the most enlightened approach.”

When Cuomo instituted his own 14-day quarantine for travelers from Florida, he accused DeSantis of playing politics with the virus.

“Look at the numbers: you played politics with this virus and you lost,” Cuomo said on CNN, at the time. “You told the people of your state…don’t worry about it, just open up, go about your business, this is all Democratic hyperbole. Oh really? Now you see twenty seven states with the numbers going up, you see the death projections going up….It was never politics, it was always science.”

As National Review reported at the time, the death rate for coronavirus patients in New York hovered around 8%. The death rate in Florida was just 3%. Florida also didn’t force coronavirus-positive patients into nursing homes – the most vulnerable populations – resulting in thousands of deaths.

On Monday, the CDC also removed its recommendation for asymptomatic testing, even after a person has been exposed to COVID-19:

• If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms:
  • You do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one.
    • A negative test does not mean you will not develop an infection from the close contact or contract an infection at a later time.
  • You should monitor yourself for symptoms. If you develop symptoms, you should evaluate yourself under the considerations set forth above.
  • You should strictly adhere to CDC mitigation protocols, especially if you are interacting with a vulnerable individual. You should adhere to CDC guidelines to protect vulnerable individuals with whom you live.
• If you do not have COVID-19 symptoms and have not been in close contact with someone known to have a COVID-19 infection:
  • You do not need a test.
    • A negative test does not mean you will not contract an infection at a later time.
  • If you decide to be tested, you should self-isolate at home until your test results are known, and then adhere to your health care provider’s advice. This does not apply to routine screening or surveillance testing at work, school, or similar situations.