Federal health officials have reduced the recommended COVID-19 isolation period from 10 days to five for people who have no symptoms. But some question whether a shorter quarantine is appropriate amid a winter outbreak. Among those most conflicted are Nashville-area hospitality workers.
“I think the new rule inherently puts people more at risk and puts people in a precarious situation partly because it relies on people to self-report if they have symptoms,” says Hayden Smith, a hospitality worker and organizer with Restaurant Opportunities Center Music City.
The pandemic has pushed restaurant workers to often choose between their health or their job, Smith says, because many aren’t offered sick or quarantine pay. He worries restaurant employees may downplay symptoms because they can’t afford to miss work.
“Restaurant workers already — very much at times — live paycheck to paycheck,” Smith says. “So, taking 10 days off work without sick pay, without quarantine pay and without savings, it’s a very daunting idea.”
He says workers may also feel pressure by employers to return to work after five days, even if they still have symptoms.
“We’ve already had problems with managers and owners pressuring workers to return before the end of their quarantine dates, pressuring workers to not to get tested,” he says. “This absolutely might just open the door for them to put more pressure people to come into work sick.
Smith isn’t the only who is concerned with the new guidance. James Hildreth, the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College, also raised concern on Twitter, writing that the “honor system” relying on individuals to assess whether they have symptoms is “highly problematic.”
On CNN today, CDC Director on new isolation guidelines, which cut the 10-day period to five days for people who are asymptomatic, "really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate". With all respect, guidance should what will keep people alive & well.
— James E.K. Hildreth (@JamesEKHildreth) December 29, 2021
The CDC say the new guidance is based on increasing evidence about when the virus is most contagious. But some are still skeptical, considering that the health organization has been urged by various stakeholders to explore shortening the isolation time to ease staffing woes.
The CDC also recommends that those who leave quarantine should wear a mask around others for an additional five days. But it’s ultimately up to individual business owners how long they want their workers to quarantine.
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