People who test positive for COVID-19 no longer have to quarantine for five days, new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say.

Agency representatives said Friday that instead, those with the virus should stay home until they’ve been without a fever without medication for at least 24 hours and they feel their symptoms are easing.

The guidelines now mirror those regarding other respiratory illnesses such as RSV or the flu.

The CDC still suggests taking extra precautions for the next five days, such as masking and limiting close contact.

“Today’s announcement reflects the progress we have made in protecting against severe illness from COVID-19,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a statement. “However, we still must use the common sense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses — this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick.”

Dr. Cohen said the new guidelines come as most Americans have built up some immunity against the virus, and there aren’t high infection waves or hospitalizations like what the country experienced more toward the initial spread.

The agency also noted that hospitalizations and deaths due to the virus have been decreasing since 2020 and 2021. COVID has dropped from the third-leading cause of death in the country in 2020 and 2021 to the 10th-leading cause, data from 2023 showed.

The CDC said the new guidelines include special considerations for people who are especially at risk, like those who are immunocompromised, those over 65, people with disabilities and people who are or have been recently pregnant.

The new guidelines also don’t apply to clinics, hospitals and other health care centers.

Some experts slammed the drop in isolation time when it was announced that the CDC was considering it.

“The proposal would make workplaces and public spaces even more unsafe for everyone, particularly for people who are [at] high risk for COVID complications,” said Sam Friedman, a research professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “And, to be clear, the CDC’s list of conditions that make someone at high risk for COVID complications is so long that almost all of us qualify.

Lara Jirmanus, a clinical instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and member of the People’s CDC, said the new guidelines prioritize “short-term business interests over our health by caving to employer pressure.”

“This is a pattern we’ve seen throughout the pandemic,” she said.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.