The Centers for Disease Control and Prevent has updated its guidance on coronavirus testing. Previously, the agency suggested that anybody who was in close contact with somebody who tested positive for COVID-19 should get tested, even if they were asymptomatic.
On Monday (August 24), the CDC reversed course and now says that asymptomatic individuals may not need to get tested.
"If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one," the CDC wrote on its website.
The updated guidance has some experts worried that potential cases of COVID-19 will go undiagnosed and lead to more infections.
"Our work on the 'silent' spread underscored the importance of testing people who have been exposed to COVID-19 regardless of symptoms," Alison Galvani, director for the Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis at Yale School of Medicine, wrote on Twitter. "This change in policy will kill."
Photo: Getty Images