WARRENSBURG — Johnson County Community Health Services announced on Tuesday, March 2, that the organization has reduced quarantine restrictions for anyone who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
The time required for a close contact to quarantine is reduced from 14 to 10 days.
In a press release, JCCHS stated the decision was made due to the current decrease in positive COVID-19 cases in the county.
JCCHS Community Outreach Coordinator Kerri Lewis said as of Tuesday, March 2, the county’s positivity rate is 6.3%.
JCCHS states that guidance regarding isolation for confirmed COVID-19 cases remains unchanged. This newly-modified CDC guidance is not authorized for reduced timeframes for quarantine in nursing facilities or long-term care facilities.
JCCHS recommends decreasing the existing 14 day quarantine period to 10 days based on the following:
According to DHSS, communities can move down in the risk category after two consecutive weeks of meeting the next lower level criteria. JCCHS states the county has moved down in the risk category, therefore, lessening quarantine restrictions.
The DHSS states counties in the extreme risk category are classified as having a PCR seven-day positivity rate of 15% or above. Counties in the critical risk category have a PCR seven-day positivity rate between 10% and 14%. Counties in the serious risk category have a PCR seven-day positivity rate between 5% and 9%.
Lewis said the state recommends when counties fall into the serious risk category for two consecutive weeks, the area can look into lessening quarantine lengths while keeping safety protocols in place.
Lewis said JCCHS felt comfortable reducing the quarantine time frame due to the drop in the positivity rate, but if the positivity rate rises for two consecutive weeks back into the critical risk category, the organization will consider whether to keep the lessened restriction in place or reimplement the 14-day quarantine.
Lewis said the state released its tiered risk level approach in December 2020. She said the county’s positivity rate was well above 15% at that time, with the worst months for the county’s COVID-19 numbers being October through December last year.
“We didn’t feel comfortable in Johnson County at the levels we were at to reduce the quarantine restrictions,” Lewis said. “Now that we are seeing our numbers decrease considerably, we felt comfortable being able to lessen those restrictions.”
Lewis said lessening the timeframe for a close contact quarantine allows community members to return to work sooner and students to return to school sooner.
“It helps with (students’) mental health by being in the classroom and it helps economically for anyone that needs to get back to work,” Lewis said. “With our numbers trending down the way they have been, it gives us the opportunity to lessen those restrictions so we can get back to our daily lives.”
Lewis also said JCCHS will not implement any lesser restrictions than what state and federal guidelines recommend.
JCCHS continues to recommend following the 3Ws: wear a mask, watch one’s distance and wash one’s hands.
