Guess what, everyone! The CDC is catching up to what the general public now knows to be true – COVID-19 can be treated like any other respiratory virus, and if you feel sick, you should stay home and avoid giving it to others, but there is no need to “quarantine” for days.

Wow, thanks, CDC!

The CDC’s new guidance now matches public health advice for flu and other respiratory illnesses: Stay home when you’re sick, but return to school or work once you’re feeling better and you’ve been without a fever for 24 hours.

The shift reflects sustained decreases in the most severe outcomes of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as a recognition that many people aren’t testing themselves for Covid anyway.

“Folks often don’t know what virus they have when they first get sick, so this will help them know what to do, regardless,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said during a media briefing Friday.

Over the past couple of years, weekly hospital admissions for Covid have fallen by more than 75%, and deaths have decreased by more than 90%, Cohen said.

“To put that differently, in 2021, Covid was the third leading cause of death in the United States. Last year, it was the 10th,” Dr. Brendan Jackson, head of respiratory virus response within the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during the briefing.

Amazing. A novel coronavirus is no longer as dangerous after four years because it has cycled through the population. Of course, the CDC is still pushing vaccination, but at this point, everyone in the general population has either had COVID, or been exposed to it after four years.

And the CDC has “modified” its recommendation on masking as well – but they are expanding it to all respiratory viruses.

For people who are sick with COVID-19 or another respiratory virus, the CDC will suggest masking as part of five additional days of ramped-up precautions after they are no longer staying home, alongside distancing and improved ventilation.

The agency had previously suggested wearing a mask for up to 10 days after stopping isolation when indoors near other people.

And in treating COVID like any other upper respiratory virus, the CDC is quietly admitting that states that had already changed their quarantine requirements were not seeing any adverse impact.

The agency cited states that have already adopted these kinds of recommendations, like Oregon and California, as well as other countries abroad. Experts have questioned how often the five-day recommendations were followed, given hurdles like the lack of paid sick leave.

“Importantly, states and countries that have already shortened recommended isolation times have not seen increased hospitalizations or deaths related to COVID-19,” the agency said.

Cue the freakout from the “Covidians” whose entire identity is based around being sick or living in a bubble of extreme measures. Instead of being thankful that COVID is no longer a rampaging viral threat to the elderly and immunocompromised, they are going to find a way to be sick and afraid and special FOREVER. Going to Taylor Lorenz’s Twitter/X feed is highly representative of this view, as she is retweeting everyone who agrees with her masking at all times (unless she’s around people she likes). For example:
https://twitter.com/betsyladyzhets/status/1763660202417717603
And Lorenz was also retweeting Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding – remember him? – who is also melting down and filing legal complaints in California.

16) CONFIRMATION… precisely as I said yesterday– CDC based their new rule from shoddy data from California — which again was enacted, checks notes… only on Jan 9th 2024 after the peak had passed! (see above why this is bullshit). I hate being right. but hopefully we can get… pic.twitter.com/G1qrvLejTd

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 1, 2024

Today’s news is just the latest sign that the American public has completely moved on from COVID-19, a lot sadder after the entire experience and (hopefully) a whole lot wiser after seeing the lengths government went to in order to control the average person’s life. The elites still can’t admit that mistakes were made, and the consequences of those mistakes are going to follow us for years to come.
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1762217670655799688
The CDC has lost so much credibility in the last four years that the average person simply doesn’t care much what they say now. The changes to quarantine rules will make a difference – especially to private employers, schools, and medical facilities. But the American public is going to see this headline, roll their eyes, and move on with the rest of their lives. COVID has disrupted it enough already.

Featured image via Alexandra_Koch on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license