CDC released updated public health guidance on respiratory illness on March 1. Find the guidance here. This guidance, which does not apply to healthcare settings like nursing homes, replaces previous public health guidance on COVID-19 and is meant to apply broadly to respiratory illness including COVID-19, flu, and RSV. The updated guidance is meant to be simple, practical, and actionable and stresses the importance of staying home when sick (for example, when experiencing fever and/or respiratory symptoms). Core prevention strategies include staying up to date on immunization; practicing good hygiene including hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and clean surfaces; and taking steps to improve air quality. If ill, CDC recommends staying home and away from others until you are 24-hours fever-free with improvement in symptoms, after which point you may resume normal activities. When resuming normal activities, CDC recommends practicing additional prevention strategies over the following 5 days such as clean air, hygiene, masking, social distancing, and testing. This public health guidance does not apply to nursing homes and other healthcare settings, including any adult care homes in Kansas, which will continue to follow the May 2023 healthcare setting guidance. LeadingAge has advocated to CDC for review of healthcare setting guidance.
