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With some questionable health advice being posted by your friends on Facebook, politicians arguing about the state of the American healthcare system and a new medical study being summarized in just a sentence or two on TV---that seems to contradict the study you heard summarized yesterday---it can be overwhelming to navigate the ever-changing landscape of health news.

To Your Health: Social Distancing. Quarantining. Isolating

Social distancing. Quarantining. Isolating. These terms weren’t regular parts of our lexicon last year at this time. And even 9 months in to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of us still aren’t sure about the differences between these practices.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clarify that social or physical distancing means staying at least 6 feet from other people who are not from your household. Social distancing is something everyone should do, along with other everyday preventive actions, such as wearing face coverings and handwashing. Quarantine, on the other hand, separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to COVID-19 to see if they become sick. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their health department. A person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 must not only stay home but also isolate by separating themselves from others in their home, staying in a specific “sick room” and using a separate bathroom.

The original  recommendation for a 14-day quarantine was based on estimates of the upper bounds of the COVID-19 incubation period. However, this length can cause economic hardship that may reduce compliance. To reduce this burden, the CDC offers the following options: quarantine can end after Day 7 if a diagnostic specimen tests negative and if no symptoms were reported during daily monitoring or after Day 10 without testing  if no symptoms have been reported.

Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/index.html#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20Isolation%20separates%20sick%20people,if%20they%20become%20sick.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine.html

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/isolation.html

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html

Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Middle & Secondary Education. She writes for special publications of The Southeast Missourian and is a certified Community Health Worker.
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