ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has informed child care license holders that they no longer have to quarantine kids or their staff who get near others with COVID-19.
The change to the DHS licensing requirements was sent out on Tuesday and it stated the change would be "effective immediately."
Health officials said providers will still be required to report COVID cases to MDH, inform families of exposures and isolate those who have tested positive.
The shift in rules comes during the COVID omicron surge, which has seen the highly contagious variant spread across many child care centers, schools and businesses.
This new change in the policy might help parents who have seen their children sent home to quarantine several times. However, the DHS does not outline any sort of plan for child care providers moving forward other than it "strongly encourage providers to follow MDH and CDC guidance for quarantining."
Meanwhile, the CDC authorized a major shift in public health guidance last month, issuing new recommendations that allow people with COVID-19 to come out of isolation after five days rather than 10, granted they no longer have symptoms.
Citing data that people are most contagious one or two days before symptoms and up to two or three days after symptoms, the CDC says asymptomatic people who leave isolation after a five-day period should still wear a mask for another five days.
However, some groups representing workers have pushed back against the CDC's new guidance, expressing concerns that it will pressure them to come back too quickly and thus further spread the virus.
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