A news conference scheduled by Ontario’s top doctor to share new rules on COVID-19 testing and case management has been postponed as officials review isolation guidelines in light of changes made in the United States.

Dr. Kieran Moore was scheduled to hold a virtual news conference on Tuesday, but officials say it will now be held later in the week.

Health officials say the change was made so they could evaluate Ontario-specific evidence after the US Centers for Disease Control shortened recommended isolation and quarantine periods for COVID-19.

US health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.

Officials at the CDC said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

The CDC’s decision was also driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.

Ontario reported 8,825 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a slight decline from previous days.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said 187 people were in intensive care due to COVID-19 and a total of 491 people hospitalized.

Elliott shared the figures on Twitter, but government websites did not publish an updated number of virus-related deaths due to the statutory holiday.

The Ontario Hospital Association shared data showing 108 critically ill COVID-19 patients were on ventilators, with 24 adult admissions on Monday.

Just last week, the CDC loosened rules that previously called on health care workers to stay off the job for 10 days if they test positive. The new recommendations said workers could go back after seven days if they test negative and don’t have symptoms.

Not all agree

US health officials’ decision to shorten the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period from 10 days to five is drawing criticism from some medical experts and could create confusion among many Americans.

The move has raised questions about how the guidance was crafted and why it was changed now, in the middle of another wintertime spike in cases, this one driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant.

Monday’s action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut in half the recommended isolation time for Americans who are infected with the coronavirus but have no symptoms. The CDC similarly shortened the amount of time people who have come into close contact with an infected person need to quarantine.

The new guidance was issued amid warnings from the business community that the spike in cases could soon cause widespread staffing shortages because of workers being forced to stay home. Already, thousands of airline flights have been cancelled over the past few days in a mess blamed on omicron.

CDC officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the virus are most infectious in the first few days.

But other medical experts questioned why the agency’s guidelines allow people to leave isolation without testing.

“It’s frankly, reckless to proceed like this,” said Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. “Using a rapid test or some type of test to validate that the person isn’t infectious is vital.”

“There’s no evidence, no data to support this,” he added.

Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illnesses than earlier versions. But the sheer number of people becoming infected – and therefore having to isolate or quarantine – threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open, experts say.

The CDC has been under pressure from the public and the private sector, including Delta Air Lines, to explore ways to shorten the isolation time. Airline officials earlier this month sent a letter to the CDC proposing five days of isolation for fully vaccinated people who become infected, with a “testing protocol” to leave isolation.

There is a run on COVID-19 rapid tests amid the spike in cases and the busy holiday travel season. In many places, at-home tests are difficult or impossible to find.

Elsewhere

The CDC move follows global efforts to adjust isolation rules, with policies differing from country to country.

England last week trimmed its self-isolation period for vaccinated people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to seven days in many cases, provided two negative lateral flow tests are taken a day apart.

The French government said Monday that it will soon relax its isolation rules, although by exactly how much isn’t yet clear.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said the rule changes will be aimed at warding off “paralysis” of public and private services. By some estimates, France could be registering more than 250,000 new infections per day by January.

Italy, meanwhile, is considering doing away with a quarantine altogether for those who have had close contact with an infected person as long they have had a booster shot. Projections indicate as many as 2 million Italians could be put in quarantine over the next two weeks as the virus spreads.

US airline industry applauds CDC decision

“The decision is the right one based upon science,” said the lobbying group Airlines for America.

But the head of a flight attendants union criticized the change, saying it could lead businesses to pressure sick employees to come back before they are well.

If that happens, “we will make clear it is an unsafe work environment, which will cause a much greater disruption than any `staffing shortages,”’ warned Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International.