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The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has issued updated guidance on COVID-19 infection control for health care settings.
The guidance updates the circumstances when the use of source control (respirators and face masks) and universal personal protective equipment are recommended. The updated guidance also notes that vaccination status is no longer used to inform source control, screening testing, or post-exposure recommendations.
Additionally, it updates recommendations for testing frequency and clarifies that health care facilities may use their discretion in relation to screening testing of asymptomatic health care personnel, including those in nursing homes.
The guidance also recommends health care facilities use data on COVID-19 community transmission rather than COVID-19 community levels to guide certain practices to allow for earlier intervention to prevent a strain on the health care system. The community levels metric (hospitalizations and cases) is used by individuals and non-health care settings, while the community transmission metric refers to measures of the presence and spread of COVID-19.
At this time, state regulations from the California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA are not in alignment with CDC recommendations. As the state regulations are more stringent, these regulations should still be followed.
