MILWAUKEE — It's a text message or phone call that a lot of Wisconsinites have gotten over the past few days and likely will into 2022: "Just a heads-up that I've tested positive for COVID-19 and it's likely not a bad idea to go get tested."
"The way it currently stands, if that person [who came in contact with someone who tested positive] is vaccinated and doesn't have symptoms, then they're okay to carry on as long as they mask when they're around others and they watch for symptoms," Anna Nick, a public health administrator with the Brown County Health Department, said Monday. "The recommendation is still— even for vaccinated individuals— to get tested around days 5-7 [since the exposure]."
From families who'd taken any-and-all CDC precautions before that holiday get-together only to find out that a fully vaccinated and boosted individual's dealing with a breakthrough case of COVID-19, to gatherings of friends or family where loved ones took few precautions only to deal with an outbreak now, Nick said getting tested is critical.
"If you were with a family member who tested positive for COVID, and now you have symptoms and you took one of those antigen tests, you can bet that you have it as well," Nick added.
Details on the current CDC guidance for quarantine and isolation are available here.
You can watch the full interview with Anna Nick above.