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CDC expands definition of ‘close contact’ with an individual infected with COVID-19

The new information is based on a study at a Vermont prison conducted by the CDC and will impact those who work in close proximity, such as restaurant workers

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

October 22, 2020

2 Min Read
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has altered the definition for "close contact," by now including 15 minutes of exposure non-consecutively to someone infected with COVID over 24 hours.Drazen Zigic / iStock / Getty Images Plus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expended its definition of “close contact” of someone infected with COVID-19, the agency announced on Wednesday.

Previous guidance defined “close contact” as at least 15 consecutive minutes within six feet of someone who was infectious. The new guidelines expand that definition to 15 non-consecutive minutes within six feet of someone who was infectious across 24 hours. Those who fit this description should quarantine for two weeks.

The U.S. is “unfortunately seeing a distressing trend, with cases increasing in nearly 75% of the country,” Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, said Wednesday at a press conference.

The guidelines come out following a new study conducted by the CDC in August at a prison in Vermont, which found that a correctional officer who had “multiple brief encounters” with six COVID-positive inmates contracted COVID. The inmates were awaiting the results of their COVID tests when the interactions happened during a transfer.

The report noted that the officer was within six feet of the infected inmates at least 22 times during one eight-hour shift, totaling at least 17 minutes of exposure based on security-camera footage. The footage also showed that the inmates were wearing masks most of the time — but not always­ — and the guard was wearing a microfiber cloth mask, gown and eye protection at all times during these interactions.

“While a mask provides some limited protection to the wearer, each additional person who wears a mask increases the individual protection for everyone. When more people wear masks, more people are protected,” said the CDC.

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While infection is not guaranteed, factors in the spread during these brief interactions include ventilation, air quality, the use of masks and how infectious the person’s strain is.

The new study “adds to the scientific knowledge of the risk to contacts of those with COVID-19 and highlights again the importance of wearing face masks to prevent transmission,” according to the CDC.

Those most heavily impacted include people who are in shared spaces for long periods of time or interact with multiple people at once. Restaurant workers, who interact with unmasked patrons while at tables, would seem to fall in that category.

“It’s easy to accumulate 15 minutes in small increments when you spend all day together — a few minutes at the water cooler, a few minutes in the elevator, and so on,” Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told the Washington Post about an apparent risk to workers in an office setting. “I expect this will result in many more people being identified as close contacts […] This change underscores the importance of vigilant social distancing — even multiple brief interactions can pose a risk.”

Contact Holly at [email protected]

Find her on Twitter: @hollypetre

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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