In a page posted in December 2021, the CDC gave COVID-19 guidance which was rendered nonsensical by a grammatical error. Below is my email to the media office with a suggestion for rewording it.
To: media@cdc.gov
Subject: Suggestion for better wording in isolation guidelines
Date: January 6, 2022
To whom it may concern:
The isolation guidance says:
"People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter."
(https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html, accessed Jan 6, 2022.)
I am writing to suggest that this sentence be rewritten. Its literal meaning in English seems to be:
However, the intended meaning was almost certainly:
For example, the quoted sentence could be replaced by:
"People with COVID-19 should isolate for at least 5 days, and until they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours). In addition, they should follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter."
Sincerely,
Sal Elder