The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new COVID-19 guidelines shortening the time people should isolate after testing positive for the virus.

The recommended isolation period, even for asymptomatic individuals, was 10 days under the previous guidance. The new recommendation is five days of isolation followed by five days of wearing a mask.

The news release from the CDC says the change is “motivated by science determining that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the one to two days prior to onset of symptoms and the two to three days after.”

People exposed to COVID-19 who are either unvaccinated or not six months past full vaccination should follow the same guidance, isolating for five days followed by five days of strict mask wearing. Anyone who is exposed to COVID, vaccinated or not, is advised to take a COVID test five days after exposure. With symptoms, people are advised to quarantine until a negative test confirms the symptoms are not a result of COVID-19.

One tenet of the new CDC guidelines is that if a five-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.

Marshall County Public Health Director Pat Thompson said one of the reasons for the new guidance is to help people return to their jobs quickly.

“Part of that is keeping our workforce able to work,” she said. “Isolation and quarantine, they are made to help protect us and stop the spread of COVID and any virus. It affects many things like work and school. Some of these changes, we think, will be beneficial and help us live with the virus the best we can.”

A core component to the updated guidance is the honest reporting of symptoms by people who are experiencing them. Thompson said people must be trusted to be honest, but there are other things that can be done to stay safe.

“The thing that is important to all of this is mask wearing and getting the vaccine,” she said. “For one thing, people may not know that they have it for the first one or two days. Someone next to us could have COVID and not know it.”

The spread of the virus is again picking up after slowing slightly a week ago. Cases and hospitalizations grew dramatically after the Thanksgiving holiday. With many people gathering for holidays in the last week, a similar surge is likely to follow.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 10,162 positive tests in the last seven days, up from 9,472 a week ago. The state’s rate of positive tests is more than 10 percent, nearly reaching 11 percent. Marshall County’s average rate of positive cases for the last seven days leapt by an even larger margin, up from five percent to 10 percent this week.

“We need to pay a lot of attention to those exposures from now until the end of January. We can’t be surprised if there are more spikes,” Thompson said.

There are 711 people hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, including 128 admitted in the last 24 hours. This includes 165 people in intensive care units. Sixty-nine percent of hospitalizations list COVID as the primary diagnosis. Among the hospitalized are 16 children under 17 years old, including 10 under the age of 11 years old. More than 80 percent of people hospitalized are not fully vaccinated, including 83 percent of ICU patients.

Across the state, 7,858 people have died from COVID-19. Marshall County did not report any new deaths this week.

Thompson said there are Johnson and Johnson vaccines available through the county public health department. More than 4.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in Iowa, and 62 percent of people in Marshall County ages 12 and up have been vaccinated, including 75 percent of adults.

COVID-19 IN MARSHALL COUNTY

• Seven day percent of positive test rate: 10 percent

• Seven day number of cases: 98

• CDC transmission level: HIGH

• Eligible and Fully vaccinated (not included 5-11 year old): 58.9 percent

• New deaths this week: 0

• Total deaths: 94