ACC announces reduced isolation period for vaccinated individuals

The new guidelines were released on Monday.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today an addition to the league’s Medical Advisory Group Report that includes options for reducing isolation for vaccinated individuals, if permitted by local and state public health officials.

In addition to the updated report, the Medical Advisory Group has also stressed that due diligence be maintained on everyday mitigation strategies as the best way to reduce and minimize the spread of COVID and its variants.

The ACC’s Medical Advisory Group has been meeting weekly since the spring of 2020 to share information on the impact of COVID-19 on ACC campuses and intercollegiate athletics. The first MAG report was released on July 29, 2020, and today is the 12th version of the report over the last 17 months.

The updated report maintains the below language related to isolation, while adding two options to shorten isolation for vaccinated individuals.

Pursuant to CDC guidance, an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 shall be isolated for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms/positive test and at least 1 day (i.e., 24 hours) has passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement of respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath). A student-athlete’s medical treatment will be determined by institutional medical staff, and be considered unavailable for training, team/group activities or game play until the student-athlete has both completed necessary isolation and had a medical clearance by team physicians.

• A vaccinated individual who tests positive for COVID-19 may complete isolation when one of the following occurs, if permitted by local and state public health officials:
  • Once asymptomatic, the individual has two negative tests (i.e., molecular PCR or antigen) from specimens that are collected at least 24 hours apart; or
  • At least seven (7) days have elapsed since the first positive test, the individual’s symptoms are improving, and the individual has one negative test (i.e., molecular PCR or antigen) within 24 hours of being cleared.
    • Such an individual must be fever-free for at least 24 hours to be cleared under either of the above options.

The MAG is comprised of an individual from each member institution and includes a cross-section of infectious disease experts, public health experts, campus student health experts, team physicians, athletic health care administrators and a mental health expert.

Following the announcement of ACC’s modified 2021-22 COVID-19 Game Rescheduling Policy on Wednesday, December 22, the league’s Athletic Directors clarified that for men’s and women’s basketball, a team must have a roster minimum of seven game available scholarship student-athletes and one countable coach to play a game.

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