Since March 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has recommended-and many, if not all, localities
have required-that individuals exposed to someone with COVID-19
self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure. On
December 2, 2020, the CDC issued its much-anticipated updated guidance suggesting that, depending on
"local circumstances and resources," individuals may be
able to exit self-quarantine sooner than 14 days.
The CDC has recommended that individuals self-quarantine after
being exposed to someone with COVID-19 as a way to control the
transmission of the virus. The theory behind the
self-quarantine is if an individual exposed to COVID-19 is
self-quarantining when the individual become sick with the virus,
that individual will not be able to spread the virus to
others. Since the onset of the pandemic, the CDC has
recommended that individuals exposed to someone with COVID-19
self-quarantine for 14 days because prior estimates
