The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert to healthcare workers across the United States to prepare for a potential surge of COVID-19 infections due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
The alert is designed as an update to “recommendations to enhance protection for healthcare personnel, patients, and visitors, and ensure adequate staffing in healthcare facilities,” the alert said, which added that the CDC’s contingency options include shortening the amount of time healthcare workers need to quarantine following a COVID-19 infection.
“Under conventional conditions, healthcare facilities can allow asymptomatic healthcare personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of vaccination status, to return to work after seven days and a negative test in accordance with CDC guidance,” said the alert, referring to another name for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.