CLARIFICATION

CDC Expands Definition of ‘Close Contact’ With COVID-Infected Person

The new standard now clarifies that “multiple brief encounters” adding up to over 15 minutes in a 24-hour period also count as close contact.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its definition of “close contact” for the purposes of COVID-19 exposure to also include “multiple brief encounters” adding up to over 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. Previously, close contact was defined as a single encounter within 6 feet of an infected person lasting over 15 minutes. The new definition specifies the time period and includes the possibility of COVID-19 infection due to repeat short exposures after the CDC and Vermont health officials found a prison employee contracted the virus from “multiple brief encounters” adding up to 17 minutes over an eight-hour shift. Some of the inmates were not wearing masks, the CDC said, which increases the probability of spreading the virus.