[Goose]

the CDC changed their testing guidelines for close contacts of known cases on Monday.

From get tested,  to maybe not. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...rview.html

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.
  
  • A negative test does not mean you will not develop an infection from the close contact or contract an infection at a later time.
    
• You should monitor yourself for symptoms. If you develop symptoms, you should evaluate yourself under the considerations set forth above.
  
• You should strictly adhere to CDC mitigation protocols, especially if you are interacting with a vulnerable individual. You should adhere to CDC guidelines to protect vulnerable individuals with whom you live.
  

What is the motivation behind this change? This was kind of the recommendation early on when our testing was overwhelmed but i haven't heard as much pub about long wait times for results recently.

This does not seem to be a change that will help prevent asymptomatic spread.

If you have been in close contact with a person who test positive for COVID-19, you are supposed to quarantine in any case, so spread of any kind should be minimal (quarantine is not isolate, so you may spread it to people you are in quarantine with). You and your "family" are not supposed to interact with others until your quarantine is up. The "problem" with immediate testing is that if you come up negative at the time of test, you could become positive (and asymptomatic/symptomatic) at any time during your quarantine. It isn't going to matter much in that case.

Testing close contacts who are asymptomatic helps if they show up positive right away. Then, they must isolate (instead of quarantine) and their contacts also must also be traced. I guess the CDC has decided the probability of that happening is low enough it just isn't worth doing. It may also be because so few people actually quarantine/isolate if they are asymptomatic (independent of their test status) it just doesn't matter. If so, that is a big ouch.

[Goose]

the CDC changed their testing guidelines for close contacts of known cases on Monday.

From get tested,  to maybe not. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...rview.html

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.
  
  • A negative test does not mean you will not develop an infection from the close contact or contract an infection at a later time.
    
• You should monitor yourself for symptoms. If you develop symptoms, you should evaluate yourself under the considerations set forth above.
  
• You should strictly adhere to CDC mitigation protocols, especially if you are interacting with a vulnerable individual. You should adhere to CDC guidelines to protect vulnerable individuals with whom you live.
  

What is the motivation behind this change? This was kind of the recommendation early on when our testing was overwhelmed but i haven't heard as much pub about long wait times for results recently.

This does not seem to be a change that will help prevent asymptomatic spread.

If you have been in close contact with a person who test positive for COVID-19, you are supposed to quarantine in any case, so spread of any kind should be minimal (quarantine is not isolate, so you may spread it to people you are in quarantine with). You and your "family" are not supposed to interact with others until your quarantine is up. The "problem" with immediate testing is that if you come up negative at the time of test, you could become positive (and asymptomatic/symptomatic) at any time during your quarantine. It isn't going to matter much in that case.

Testing close contacts who are asymptomatic helps if they show up positive right away. Then, they must isolate (instead of quarantine) and their contacts also must also be traced. I guess the CDC has decided the probability of that happening is low enough it just isn't worth doing. It may also be because so few people actually quarantine/isolate if they are asymptomatic (independent of their test status) it just doesn't matter. If so, that is a big ouch.