Fauci: Shortening COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers is under 'serious consideration'

• Dr. Fauci said shortening COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers was under consideration.
• His comments on CNN came after the CDC said healthcare workers could shorten their isolation period.

On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that shortening the COVID-19 isolation periods for essential workers was under "serious consideration."

"The idea about cutting down the period of quarantine for people who have been exposed and perhaps the period of isolation for people who have been infected is something that is under — I would say — serious consideration," the nation's top infectious-disease expert told Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "New Day."

"There are a lot of people in society that are essential for the smooth running of the infrastructure of our society," Fauci added.

Fauci said the consideration for essential workers came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced new guidance for healthcare workers' isolation periods.

On Thursday, the CDC shortened the length of time that healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19 have to isolate — from 10 days to seven, pending a negative test.

The new guidance comes as the Omicron variant has spread rapidly across the US, making up almost three-quarters of COVID-19 cases, the latest CDC data indicated.

Fauci said that he fully expected the current surge of COVID-19 cases in the US to turn around.

"I hope we peak and come down quickly," he said.

He also urged people who hadn't received their vaccine booster shot to get it as soon as possible to have the best possible protection against COVID-19.

He added, "Boosters are always good for any variant, but particularly for Omicron."