JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nurses nationwide are sounding the alarm about the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention's decision this week to cut the quarantine in half for people who have COVID but are asymptomatic.
"When we first heard about the new guidance that the CDC has come out with, us nurses, we were so appalled, so concerned and so disgusted," Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, President of National Nurses United, the largest union for nurses in the country, said.
Triunfo-Cortez said the CDC's decision will prolong the pandemic.
"Even with a 10-day quarantine, you know, we still have a lot of transmissions and so if we cut that in half, there will be more transmissions, more illnesses and more deaths. And one death is one too many. We cannot afford that,” she said.
According to the CDC, people are most infectious two days before symptoms develop and three days after. If you're asymptomatic five days after you test positive, the CDC said you can return to normal activities, but you have to wear a mask for five more days.
"Dr. Walensky should know better that this is not based on science. We know that vaccinations, boosters are not just a one-all be-all solution. You have to have all the other precautionary measures, including strict isolation," Triunfo-Cortez said.
Triunfo-Cortez said the CDC's decision was focused on business and getting people back to work.
"I ask them, our government officials, Dr. Walensky and the public, would you like to be cared for by a COVID infected nurse? Of course not. You don't want to get sicker. You want to be in the best of health, and the only way to do that is for nurses to stay home when they're infected with the virus, with or without the symptoms," she said.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky defended the decision.
“It really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate," Dr. Walensky said. "We have seen relatively low rates of isolation for all of this pandemic. Some science has demonstrated less than a third of people are isolating when they need to," she said.
Triunfo-Cortez said with COVID numbers surging and flu season in full swing, the decision jeopardizes everyone's health.
"It's unconscionable that the CDC would make a decision like this. This just going to be a disaster. And as nurses, we are very concerned about the health of the public and our health as well," Triunfo-Cortez said.
"It's hard to trust how people feel because we have different tolerances on the symptoms. And so I would say that even the mildest of symptoms that you have, please stay home," she said.
Triunfo-Cortez said the union is asking the CDC to reverse the decision.
“I just want to reach out to our government agencies. Please do the right thing. Protect the public. Protect the nurses. Protect all healthcare workers and other frontline workers. Because if we are not there for them, there will be no one else taking care of these patients and we do not want to further get them sicker," she said.
The new guidelines from the CDC also say if you are exposed, but don't test positive and are vaccinated and boosted, you don't have to quarantine. You do have to wear a mask for at least 10 days, though.