The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded its definition of a "close contact" – a change that will have ripple effects on schools and workplaces.

The agency says you can now contract the virus through multiple, brief exposures spent six feet or closer to the infected person.

Whereas in the past the CDC said exposure time had to be 15 continuous minutes or more, the new definition says these short encounters can be spread out but if they add up to 15 minutes, there’s a chance of infection.

This change comes after a corrections officer in Vermont contracted the virus after several brief interactions with inmates who were COVID-19 positive.