Michigan will not change its COVID-19 isolation guidelines following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent shortening of proposed quarantine time.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “will retain current quarantine and isolation guidelines including guidelines for K-12 and congregate care settings” until it “review[s] the supporting evidence behind this guidance, while awaiting additional information from the CDC,” the agency said in a Wednesday night statement. Under Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan has adopted some of the strictest COVID-19 policies in the country.
Michigan says it won’t follow CDC’s more relaxed COVID-19 quarantine recommendations https://t.co/TFPIZ8upMx
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) December 30, 2021
The CDC announced Monday that it advises individuals who test positive for COVID-19 to quarantine for five days, down from its previous recommendation of ten. Two days later, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the agency halved the number of days in part due to a concern that quarantines “could have a major negative impact on our ability to keep society running.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said the change was partly due to what officials “thought people would be able to tolerate.” (RELATED: More Than 700 Flights Canceled Amid Omicron Surge)
The announcement drew outrage from some on the left, many of whom claimed that it was a sop to major airlines and big business. The CDC cited data showing that the majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs shortly before and shortly after the onset of symptoms.
Throughout the pandemic, Michigan shut down small businesses, and the state attorney general ordered the arrest of at least one restaurant owner. Whitmer violated indoor masking rules on at least one occasion and traveled out-of-state shortly before she advised her state’s residents not to do so. The governor continued to allow abortion throughout the pandemic while banning elective medical procedures. An ultimately failed effort to recall Whitmer drew over 180,000 signatures.