Return-to-Work Criteria for Health Care Professionals with Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19

Summary of Recent Changes as of April 13, 2020

  • Indicates a preference for use of the Test-based strategy to determine when HCP may return to work in healthcare settings
  • Adds return to work criteria for HCP with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who have not had any symptoms
  • Aligns with recommendations for universal source control for everyone in a healthcare facility during the pandemic.

CDC guidance for COVID-19 may be adapted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances.

Who this is for: Occupational health programs and public health officials making decisions about return to work for healthcare personnel (HCP) with confirmed COVID-19, or who have suspected COVID-19 (e.g., developed symptoms of a respiratory infection but did not get tested for COVID-19).

Decisions about return to work for HCP with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should be made in the context of local circumstances. Options include a test-based strategy or a non-test-based strategy (i.e., time-since-illness-onset and time-since-recovery strategy).