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.