On June 8, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an Order defining close contact and infectious period for purposes of the CDPH’s isolation and quarantine guidance issued on April 6.
Because the definitions in the new order directly affect requirements under the currently effective standard, California employers should be aware of this development.
Under the June 8 order, close contact is defined as someone sharing the same indoor airspace (e.g., home, clinic waiting room, airplane, etc.) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during an infected person’s laboratory-confirmed or clinically diagnosed infectious period.
