Airline trade group, Airlines for America, appeals to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cut short its recommended quarantine time for breakthrough cases. The current quarantine time for COVID19 cases is at 10 days.
Airlines for America CEO Nicholas Calio wrote a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. He said that “the Omicron surge may exacerbate personnel shortages and create significant disruptions to our workforce and operations”.
This isn’t the first letter requesting the agency to cut the quarantine period to just five days. Delta Air Lines wrote a letter on Wednesday appealing to change the quarantine period for breakthrough cases.
Shortening the Quarantine Time for Breakthrough Cases
The CDC still hasn’t issued a reply to the requests. However, not everyone in the airline industry agrees with this suggestion. Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, wrote to Walensky on Thursday. Nelson said that “Staffing flights with crewmembers who may still be symptomatic, infectious or both by shortening them on necessary isolation time will only make this situation worse”. She also added that even if most flight attendants are already vaccinated, some may not have received their booster shots.
Nelson said that “Flight attendants should not be expected to return to work until they test negative and do not exhibit symptoms”. She also mentioned that we are still not sure if “10 days represents that ‘magic number’”.
7-Day Isolation for Healthcare Workers
Federal officials on Thursday announced the updated CDC guidance for healthcare workers who will test positive for COVID19. Healthcare workers who tested positive can now come back to work after seven days. However, they will have to test negative and no longer exhibit symptoms. Also, CDC suggested that it is possible to have a 5-day isolation time or shorter if there are staffing shortages.
Walensky said that “As the health care community prepares for an anticipated surge in patients due to omicron, CDC is updating our recommendations to reflect what we know about infection and exposure in the context of vaccination and booster doses”.
