California ends COVID-19 isolation rule for asymptomatic cases as winter infections climb

by Kristen Hwang, CalMatters and Carolyn Jones, CalMatters January 22, 2024January 22, 2024

California in January 2024 released new COVID-19 isolation guidelines that allow people to return to work or school if they are asymptomatic. Here, students in Theresa Griffin’s sixth-grade class wore masks at Stege Elementary School in Richmond on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo courtesy Shelby Knowles/ CalMatters)

Californians infected with COVID-19 may go about their lives without isolating or testing negative as long as their symptoms are improving, according to new and significantly loosened guidelines from the California Department of Public Health.

California’s top public health official, Dr. Tomás Aragón, last week quietly rescinded the state’s previous order, which encouraged people infected with COVID-19 to isolate for five days.

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