Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president, said on Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to recommend isolation for asymptomatic people from 10 to five days would allow people to return to work more quickly.
"The reason is that with the sheer volume of new cases that we are having and that we expect to continue with omicron, one of the things we want to be careful of is we don't have so many people out," Fauci said on CNN, according to a report from The Hill.
Reports indicate that the new omicron variant does not appear to be as dangerous as its predecessors, but it seems more transmissive.
"If you are asymptotic and you are infected, we want to get people back to the jobs, especially those with essential jobs," Fauci continued.
Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), went on to praise the CDC's decision to reduce the isolation time for everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
"They can get back to the workplace, doing things that are important to keep society running smoothly. It just makes sense, keeping them out for five days. I don't think it's confusing, I think it's a rather crisp recommendation," Fauci added, referring to the rollout of new CDC recommendations.
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