The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released consolidated recommendations for COVID-19 testing, including interim testing guidelines for nursing home residents and healthcare personnel, as well as testing strategy options for high-density critical infrastructure workplaces after a COVID-19 case is identified, according to a news release from the CDC.
These recommendations consolidate and update previous testing guidance from the CDC.
The CDC said the consolidated recommendations for testing, Overview of Testing for SARS-CoV-2, were developed based on what the industry currently knows about COVID-19.
Currently, the CDC recommends testing people who:
· Have signs or symptoms of COVID-19
· Have no symptoms but recently had contact with someone known or suspected to have COVID-19
· Have no symptoms and no known contact with someone known or suspected to have COVID-19 but still may be tested for early identification in special settings
· Have had confirmed COVID-19 but no longer have symptoms; and
· May be tested by public health officials to track spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The CDC said its prevention and control (IPC) recommendations are aimed at keeping COVID-19 out of nursing homes (as well as other long-term care facilities), detecting cases quickly if they do occur, and stopping further transmission in these facilities. Updated recommendations include recommendation against testing the same individual more than once in a 24-hour period; consideration for testing residents with symptoms for other causes of respiratory illness, such as influenza; and coordination of repeat testing in response to outbreaks with local, territorial, and state health departments.
The CDC’s updated recommendations also address testing and illness among workers in food-producing facilities and surrounding communities, with a goal of reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace. “Critical infrastructure employers have an obligation to manage the continuation of work in a way that best protects the health of their workers and the general public. the Appropriate workplace protections, such as engineering and administrative controls, for those present in the workplace should remain in place,” the agency said.
