Updated Guidance on Evaluating and Testing Persons for Coronavirus Disease 2019 [March 08, 2020]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Health Alert Network (HAN)
• Description:
  March 08, 2020, 8:20 PM ET
  
  CDCHAN-00429
  
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to closely monitor and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
  
  This CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Update highlights guidance and recommendations for evaluating and identifying patients who should be tested for COVID-19 that were shared on March 4, 2020, on the CDC COVID-19 website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/hcp/clinical-criteria.html. It supersedes the guidance and recommendations provided in CDC’s HAN 428 distributed on February 28, 2020.
  
  The outbreak that began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, has now spread throughout China and to 101 other countries and territories, including the United States. As of March 8, 2020, there were more than 105,000 cases reported globally. In addition to sustained transmission in China, there is now community spread in several additional countries. CDC has updated travel guidance to reflect this information (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html).
  
  As of March 7, 2020, there were a total of 213 cases within the United States, of which, 49 were among repatriated persons from high-risk settings. Among the other 164 cases that were diagnosed in the United States, 36 were among persons with a history of recent travel in China or other affected areas, and 18 were persons in close contact with another confirmed COVID-19 patient (i.e., person-to-person spread); 110 cases are currently under investigation. During the week of February 23, community spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 was reported in California in two places, Oregon, and Washington. Community spread in Washington resulted in the first reported case of COVID-19 in a healthcare worker, and the first outbreak in a long-term care facility. The first death due to COVID-19 was also reported from Washington; there have now been 11 reported deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. As of March 7, 2020, COVID-19 cases had been reported by 19 states. CDC will continue to work with state and local health departments, clinicians, and laboratorians to identify and respond to other cases of COVID-19, especially those with an unknown source of infection, to limit further community spread. The most recent update describing COVID-19 in the United States can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html.
  
  Recognizing persons who are at risk for COVID-19 is a critical component of identifying cases and preventing further transmission. With expanding spread of COVID-19, additional areas of geographic risk are being identified and the criteria for considering testing are being updated to reflect this spread. In addition, with increasing access to testing, the criteria for testing for COVID-19 have been expanded to include more symptomatic persons, even in the absence of travel history to affected areas or known exposure to another case, to quickly detect and respond to community spread of the virus in the United States.
  
  
• Content Notes:
  Notice of Possible Alert Expiration: The CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, and Info Service announcements, distributed by the Health Alert Network (HAN), were active on the date they were originally published. Publication dates have been added to Titles for clarity. A CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, and Info Service announcement may expire at any time. They may also be updated or superseded according to later developments. None of the CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, or Info Service announcements in the Stacks HAN Collection should be assumed to be current or active. Stacks preserves HAN announcements in order to maintain a record of past CDC actions. Stacks in not designed for up-to-the-minute notifications. For the list of current CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, or Info Service announcements, patrons should visit the Health Alert Network (HAN) webpage at https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/about/index.html. For up to the minute reports, subscribe to the HAN email alert system hosted by CDC News & Updates at https://tools.cdc.gov/campaignproxyservice/subscriptions.aspx?topic_id=USCDC_486
  
  Categories of Health Alert Network (HAN) messages:
  
  Health Alert: Requires immediate action or attention, highest level of importance.
  
  Health Advisory: May not require immediate action; provides important information for a specific incident or situation.
  
  Health Update: Unlikely to require immediate action; provides updated information regarding an incident or situation.
  
  HAN Info Service: Does not require immediate action; provides general public health information.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases, Emerging Coronavirus Infections COVID-19 Pneumonia Respiratory Tract Infections
• Keywords:
  HAN Health Alert Network
• Source:
  HAN ; 429
• Series:
  Health Alert Network
• Subseries:
  CDC Health Update
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Alert
• Place as Subject:
  China ; United States
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• Issue:
  00429
• Collection(s):
  Health Alert Network (HAN)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cd2430abca81c542b262415b1738fb5ad7ea117d584a997f9f270514ff58ae6af5f6c9ac8e394c77b644974e22b7c1f7717c739594849884fac4139bf9c03f43
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/85703/cdc_85703_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 93.42 KB ]