Washington Health Department issues guidelines for COVID-19 patients returning to work
The Washington state Department of Health has issued guidance for employers and their workers when it comes to testing employees for COVID-19, as well as best practices for COVID-19 patients returning to work.
DOH only recommends routine screening of asymptomatic employees in certain high-risk jobs, such as healthcare workers.
Screening asymptomatic workers for COVID-19 only assesses the worker at that point in time and tests do not always detect people who are infected.
DOH also discourages employers from requiring their employees to have a negative test before returning to work after a confirmed COVID-19 infection.
Officials say people who are confirmed with COVID-19 infections and are not hospitalized can return to work after:
At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared;
At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication; and
Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving. (Note: Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.)
People with confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to a hospital may need to stay in isolation up to 20 days since their symptoms first appeared.
COVID-19 patients may shed SARS-CoV-2 virus at very low levels in their nose and test positive for up to three months after illness takes place. Those people are not likely to be infectious, DOH guidance says.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Washington Health Department issues guidelines for COVID-19 patients returning to work."
