October 28, 2020
CDC Updates Its Return to Work Webpage
On October 28th, the CDC updated its RTW webpage. In the “Protect Yourself and Others in the Workplace” section, it reads, “If you are well, but you have a sick family member or recently had close contact with someone with COVID-19, notify your supervisor and follow CDC recommendation precautions.” What’s new is the definition of “close contact.”
Close contact is now defined as being “within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
* Individual exposures added together over a 24-hour period (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes).
TIP: If any of your related policies or employee communications refer to close contact, you may want to update that definition to reflect the CDC’s latest interpretation.
