KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Tuesday, the Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department announced that the County will transition to a 10-day quarantine from a 14-day quarantine for people exposed to COVID-19.
The change is retroactive; therefore, Kalamazoo County residents currently in quarantine can reduce their quarantine length from 14 to 10 days. Officials say the reduced quarantine time is consistent with steps other local public health departments have taken in the State of Michigan.
It is recommend that people who are quarantined monitor for symptoms through day 14 after quarantine begins. Quarantine periods may end after 10 days, as long as no symptoms have developed and there is no ongoing household exposure.
A 10-day quarantine period does not apply to those residing in congregate living settings or who work with individuals in high-risk groups.
While the CDC does recommend a 14-day quarantine duration, in December they announced that Quarantine could end after Day-10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring. Modeling data from the CDC indicate that 10-day and 14-day quarantines both substantially reduce the risk of an infected person transmitting COVID-19 to others.
Although case rates are still significantly elevated within Kalamazoo County, the latest countywide data demonstrates a decreasing trend over the last 28 days in case rate.
Individuals cannot test out of quarantine. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department do not recommend the CDC’s option to reduce quarantine to after day 7 if a person receives a negative test result.
Two groups do not need to quarantine after a COVID-19 exposure if persons remain without symptoms:
- Fully vaccinated individuals, defined as those in which more than two weeks has passed since their final COVID-19 vaccine dose
- Persons who have had COVID-19 within the last 90 days
To date, 241,063 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to Kalamazoo County residents. This represents 56.6% of residents over the age of 16 who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to date, and 48.8% have completed the vaccination series.
“While looking at the decreasing case rate trend coupled with the current vaccination rates, we are encouraged with the progress our county is making,” County Health Officer Jim Rutherford said in a statement. “The 14-day quarantine can be challenging for schools, businesses and families. Given the latest data, we believe now is the time that we can reduce to a 10-day quarantine and still be protective of public health.”
For more information about COVID-19, visit www.kalcounty.com/covid19 or call 269-373-5200.
To find vaccination clinic closes to you, visit www.vaccines.gov.
- Further Reading – Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited Kalamazoo on Tuesday to observe the county vaccine clinic process. For more on that story, click here.
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