After a number of reports claiming
positive results for residents who never took a COVID-19 test, we
contacted the Tennessee Health Department in Nashville to ask about
the possibility of such an occurrence.
Shelly Walker is the Director of the
Office of Communications and Media Relations for the Department of
Health in Nashville and she said she contacted the Upper Cumberland
Regional Office of the Department of Health and they said they were
not aware of anyone being notified of having a positive test that had
not in fact tested positive.
Said Walker, “We have heard from a couple of people across the state who were notified of being close
contacts of a person who tested positive, and may have been confused
by the information they received. As you are likely aware, we are
conducting contact tracing, and do call people who may have been
exposed to someone with COVID-19 to let them know how to protect
themselves and others.”
We also asked for information on the
updated isolation and quarantine times and what they meant to
Tennessee residents.
According to Walker, the terms
“isolation” and “quarantine” have often been used
interchangeably since the start of the pandemic, but they’re not
the same thing. She added, “The overarching guidance on isolation
and quarantine has not changed since we shared it in March and is not
specific to Tennessee. Tennessee follows guidance from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.”
When a person tests positive for
COVID-19, that person is instructed to strictly isolate him or
herself from other people for ten days after their illness started,
to prevent spreading the virus to anyone else. This isolation would
include other family or household members in a closed room with food
and needs to be left for the person without contact.
Anyone who has come into close contact
with someone with COVID-19 is instructed to stay home, or quarantine,
for 14 days after their last contact with the case. Like any close
contact of a positive individual, a household member must quarantine
following contact to limit the spread of COVID-19. There are a couple
of scenarios for household members:
1) In instances where the household
member can separate him or herself from others in the home (separate
bedroom, etc.), the individual may begin the 14-day quarantine period
from the date of their last contact with the case.
2) In instances where the individual
cannot separate him or herself from the positive individual, the
quarantine period begins at the end of the confirmed case's isolation
period (typically, 10 days). This is because the household member
continues to be exposed to COVID-19 with ongoing contact with the
case.
This case would cover the publicized 24
day quarantine with the 10 days of isolation followed by 14 days of
quarantine.
Individuals identified as a COVID-19
case, as well as those who have been in close contact with the
individual, will be contacted by public health staff members to give
additional information about the quarantine or isolation period.
Public health staff members will provide specific guidance and
information based on that individual's situation. So, while it is
possible that a household contact of a case may be instructed to
quarantine for more than 14 days, the general instruction is not a requirement of a 24-day quarantine.
Walker concluded by saying, “Staying
home when sick or after exposure is extremely important to limit the
spread of COVID-19, and we appreciate the assistance of Tennesseans
to protect their family members, friends, and co-workers.”
