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Cass County shortens COVID-19-exposure quarantine period

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Posted at 5:21 PM, Mar 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-01 18:26:13-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cass County has shortened the required quarantine time for residents who have been exposed to COVID-19 in order to “reduce the burden,” according to the health department.

Residents now only need to quarantine for 10 days compared to the original 14-day period.

“While the full 14-day quarantine continues to be the gold standard endorsed by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], the purpose of this change is to reduce the burden and make it easier for community members to complete their quarantine, while still maintaining relatively low levels of transmission,” the Cass County Health Department stated in a news release.

The county, according to the release, has moved to the serious risk category, in which counties have a PCR positivity rate between 5% and 9% for the past seven days and a seven-day case average between 10 and 99 per 100,000 residents over two consecutive weeks.

That category – the least restrictive of the three announced by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic – also comes with a recommendation to shorten quarantine periods.

For the four days following the 10-day quarantine, the health department said people should wear a mask, wash their hands, avoid crowds and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.

If COVID-19 cases in the county increase to a rate that would put the area back in the extreme-risk category, it would resume 14-day quarantines.