Pennsylvania Adopts Reduced CDC Quarantine Timelines

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued new guidance regarding the timeframe in which a person should quarantine after being exposed to someone with COVID-19. Although the CDC still recommends a 14-days quarantine as “the best way” to reduce the risk of COVID-19, it has identified two “acceptable alternatives.” According to the CDC, an individual who has had “close contact” with a person infected with COVID-19 may quarantine for 7 days if he/she is asymptomatic and receives a negative COVID-19 test or, alternatively, 10 days if he/she is asymptomatic and has not had a test.

In our prior blog post on this topic, we asked whether, in light of this new CDC guidance, the Commonwealth would revise its mitigation order and travel orders issued in late November. On December 4, 2020, the Commonwealth answered this question by announcing that it was revising these orders to align with the newly-issued CDC quarantine timeframes. This news provides employers with the assurance that following the CDC quarantine timeframes will not result in violating orders issued by the Commonwealth.

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