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The US Center for Disease Control has halved the recommended isolation period for people who test positive for Covid-19 but don't exhibit symptoms. The CDC now says that infected but asymptomatic people should stay home for five days and wear a mask around others for a further five.

It's hoped this might help keep the economy and society functioning - especially hospitals and airlines which have struggled as thousands of staff members have been forced to isolate. But with a shortage of tests for people to check if they are still infectious or not, many are concerned it could accelerate the spread of the disease.

Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist, is against the decision.

"I think relying on self-reported symptomatic reasons to exit your isolation is not very reliable to say the least... If they relied on an early exit testing system I'd be actually ok with it. But it's the early exit self-reported, self-assessed, and we know that's very, very unreliable given that 50% of all transmission is asymptomatic transmission."

(Photo: A man takes a test at Long Beach where there were long queues for testing. Credit: Getty Images)

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