LANSING, Mich. – Michigan health officials have updated the state’s quarantine and isolation guidelines as COVID cases continue to drop following the omicron surge.
“We are updating our guidance to reflect the fact the state has entered a post-surge, recovery phase,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive. “As we move through the phases of our COVID-19 response our recommendations will be updated to reflect the current status of transmission, while continuing to prioritize public health and promote health and wellness for all communities.
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Quarantine guidelines
Anyone exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID should follow these quarantine guidelines:
If the exposure is to a personal or household contact, monitor for symptoms for 10 days and test at least one time, if possible, 3-7 days after exposure. If symptoms develop, wear a mask for 10 days from the date of exposure and avoid unmasked activities or activities that pose a high risk of exposing others.
If the exposure is from a community, social or work setting, monitor yourself for symptoms for 10 days and get a test if symptoms develop, officials said. Consider wearing a mask around others for 10 days from the date of exposure, especially around high-risk individuals.
Isolation guidelines
Michiganders who test positive for COVID or have symptoms without a negative test should continue to isolate regardless of vaccination status, according to MDHHS.
Residents should isolate at home for the first five days, starting the day after symptoms began or the day after a positive test was taken. If symptoms have improved or never develop after those five days, residents can return to normal activities while wearing a mask for the next five days, officials said.
Any person who has a fever should stay home until they’re fever-free for 24 hours without needing medication, according to experts. Then, they can return to normal activities while wearing a mask until the 10-day period is complete, MDDHS said.
Michiganders who aren’t willing or able to wear a mask should isolate at home for 10 days after a positive test or after experiencing COVID symptoms.
Notifying contacts
Anyone who tests positive for COVID should notify others who they had contact with while contagious -- from two days before symptoms started or two days before a positive test.
Prioritize telling people who are personal or household contacts and those at a high risk for serious illness.
Those individuals should then follow the guidance above.
More details
This update doesn’t change guidance for health care, long-term care, corrections and other high-risk settings, according to MDHHS. Those entities should continue to follow existing guidance, officials said.
“Along with MDHHS’ updated guidance, there may also be local isolation and quarantine guidance, policies and/or orders from local health departments, organizations and/or school districts that must be followed,” MDHHS said in a release. “Policies established by event organizers and businesses may be instituted to fit the specific needs of their customers and should be followed.”
In addition, the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Child Care guidelines have been updated to provide consistent recommendations with K-12 schools, officials said. That includes revised recommendations around masking to reflect personal choice.
Isolation and quarantine periods have been updated to align with MDHHS recommendations for the general population and K-12 schools. These changes make it easier to navigate COVID for the majority of children.