California’s COVID-19 definitions and procedures were revised by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), leading to some changes in the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 standard.
On Jan. 9, 2024, CDPH updated its guidance on COVID-19, with the biggest change being a new definition for “infectious period.”
Shortens time of ‘infectious period’
The term originally referred to a period spanning two days before symptom onset, or a positive test in the absence of symptoms, through 10 days after symptom onset or testing positive, according to law firm Seyfarth Shaw.
Now, for symptomatic confirmed cases it’s “from the day of symptom onset until 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and symptoms are mild and improving.”
For asymptomatic confirmed cases “there is no infectious period for the purpose of isolation or exclusion.” However, if symptoms develop, the criteria for symptomatic confirmed cases will apply.
Significant impact for employers covered by Cal/OSHA standard
This change was made because “we are now at a different point in time with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years due to broad immunity from vaccination and/or natural infection, and readily available treatments available for infected people,” CDPH said. “Our policies and priorities for intervention are now focused on protecting those most at risk for serious illness, while reducing social disruption that is disproportionate to recommendations for prevention of other endemic respiratory viral infections.”
Seyfarth Shaw pointed out that this change significantly impacts employers who are still covered by the Cal/OSHA non-emergency COVID-19 standard.
The shorter work exclusion means that although COVID-positive employees are still subject to 10-day masking, employers can allow them to return to work sooner than before, as long as symptoms are gone for 24 hours.
When it comes to outbreaks, “a shorter infectious period in the analysis will likely generate smaller ‘exposed groups’ and, accordingly, fewer ‘outbreaks.'”
Shorter infectious periods will also impact contact tracing, tending “to result in a smaller pool of identified close contacts” meaning “that many employers will be able to winnow down the number of employees to whom they provide close contact notice and offer no-cost testing.”
