MDH COVID-19 briefing: Quarantine guidance updated to possibly allow for shorter isolation periods

Monday afternoon, Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota health officials provided the latest update on the state’s COVID-19 situation.

On the day the state surpassed 4,000 COVID-related deaths, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann discussed updates to quarantine guidelines made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week.

MDH: 5,296 newly reported COVID-19 cases, Minnesota surpasses 4,000 deaths

After Monday, Walz said MDH will update its guidelines to fall in line with the latest CDC guidance, which allows for quarantines to end after seven or 10 days in certain cases. However, Walz said a 14-day quarantine is still preferred but the science has been refined enough to allow for some changes. He also said he hopes it will lead to higher compliance with the guidelines.

"The hope here is that by shortening the quarantine period by trimming off just the last few days when the risk is significantly lower that that will make people more likely to actually follow the guidance to the end," Malcolm said.

CDC updates COVID-19 quarantine guidelines; can end after 7 or 10 days if criteria met

According to Ehresmann, after a high-risk exposure, Minnesotans can shorten their 14-day quarantine to a 10-day quarantine if they:

• Haven’t tested positive,
• Don’t have symptoms,
• Continue to watch for symptoms for 14 days,
• Continue to mask and social distance at all times and isolate if symptoms are developed.

A quarantine can go down to seven days if all of the above conditions are met and a person receives a negative COVID-19 test result if the test was taken at least five days after exposure.

A shorter than 14-day quarantine isn’t recommended for any household exposures or those in a congregate living situation because of the difficulty in quarantining with others around. That also applies to employees of congregate living settings, Ehresmann said, and is recommended for health care workers but she said MDH is aware of health care staffing issues and is in frequent communication with health care facilities.

Ehresmann said MDH doesn’t have any exact percentages of how many people are following quarantine guidelines but officials have heard of the challenges associated with quarantining. MDH hopes more Minnesotans will comply with the updated guidelines and quarantine if exposed.

KSTP’s complete COVID-19 coverage

Malcolm said MDH has survey data that suggests Minnesotans are better at wearing masks in public settings but worse when holding private gatherings. She and Walz urged Minnesotans to wear masks any time they’re around anyone outside their household, calling it the easiest and most cost-effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"This has been a horrific 9 months for the country and for the world. It has fallen heavily on health care workers and communities of color … We’re getting close here, just dig deep; wear the masks; if you can, socially distance; try not to gather outside your own family and let’s get this thing done," Walz said.

Walz said he’s optimistic about Congress passing a new federal stimulus package that will help Minnesotans but said Minnesota lawmakers are still discussing a state relief package for Minnesota businesses. Walz said he believes Minnesota lawmakers can get it done but they’re looking at Congress and wondering how much to factor in state aid if Congress is going to pass an aid package. However, the governor said he wants state lawmakers to get a deal done because they’re a few weeks into discussions and Congress could still not reach a deal for a while.

"I’d just love to see some national leadership right now," Walz said. "We’re dying. We’re dying by the thousands. People are getting infected. Our hospitals are overrun. We’re deeply concerned about how we’re going to get the vaccines out and all of that and we’re not really hearing much. And I think that’s unfortunate."

Walz said Minnesota will begin to see some effects from the four-week restrictions reflected in MDH data and will soon start to see the effects of the Thanksgiving holiday. He said his goal is to announce whether or not the four-week restrictions will be extended by the end of the week.

Walz said the hardest weeks are still ahead of us and the toughest times for our hospitals are still coming. He acknowledged that it’s the toughest time of the year to be away from family members and loved ones but after a few weeks it’ll be 2021 and then spring and a vaccine will be quickly approaching.

"It is an absolute convergence of the worst possible things at one time and the only thing I can say to you is if we do these things right, it’s only a short matter of time until we get into the new year and head toward spring, that we get a handle back on this thing and get back to things we care about."