CHARLOTTE — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the state Coronavirus Task Force will provide an update Wednesday on how the state is doing with the pandemic.
We will carry that news conference live at 3 p.m. on Channel 9 and on wsoctv.com -- and one of the first questions asked will be about the CDC’s new guidelines on testing.
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The CDC quietly modified those testing guidelines, and they seem to contradict earlier guidance about who should be tested.
The agency’s website now says if you’ve been in close contact with someone who tested positive, you don’t necessarily need a test if you don’t have symptoms. Instead, they recommend testing for people who are vulnerable, like if you have a pre-existing condition or if your doctor or local health official says you should get one.
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That is a stark change to the previous guidelines that encouraged more frequent and widespread testing.
About 40% of people who are infected don’t show any symptoms, but could be spreading the disease.
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The CDC did not explain the change.
Doctors told the New York Times they are puzzled, saying it is important to identify infection before there are symptoms because that’s when people are most contagious.