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Officials change COVID testing advice, bewildering experts

Officials change COVID testing advice, bewildering experts
Posted at 1:44 PM, Aug 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-26 13:44:32-04

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials have sparked a wave of confusion after posting guidelines that coronavirus testing is not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people.

The new guidance was posted earlier this week on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency formerly advised testing for close contacts.

But on Monday that was changed to say that testing is no longer recommended for symptom-less people who were within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.

CDC officials have referred all questions to the agency’s parent organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.