The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is finalizing guidance to shorten the length of time it recommends that people self-quarantine after potential exposure to the coronavirus to encourage more people to comply, two agency officials said Tuesday.
The new guidelines would probably be seven to 10 days instead of the current 14 days, the officials said.
The hope is that doing so will “help make quarantine less burdensome and will, as a result, hopefully increase compliance,” said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Here are some significant developments:
Americans are weighing their Thanksgiving options this week, as covid-19 patients overwhelm hospitals and the number of newly discovered cases per day is more than double what it was during the summer surge. State and local leaders are responding with short stay-at-home orders and hard limits on the number of people who can gather.
The federal government plans to send 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to communities across the United States within 24 hours of regulatory clearance, with the expectation shots will be administered quickly to front-line health-care workers, the top priority group, officials said Tuesday.
China and Russia are rushing to share their own state-backed vaccines with countries in need, positioning themselves to possibly expand their political and economic interests in the process.
The Dow on Tuesday cracked 30,000 for the first time after President Trump authorized the government to begin the transition processes, and as President-elect Joe Biden nominated his pick for treasury secretary.
In an effort to ensure that its workers gain protection from the coronavirus, Ford said it has purchased a dozen specialty freezers that can store Pfizer’s vaccine at ultralow temperatures.