Jefferson County Quarantine Guidance

Public health departments in Montana have been assessing how to balance the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance related to vaccinated individuals with Montana’s recent legislation prohibiting discrimination based on vaccination status. This summer, the CDC updated quarantine guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, stating that those who are fully vaccinated need not quarantine if they remain symptom free. Instead, they should monitor symptoms and wear a mask when in public for 14 days or until receiving a negative test result.

However, House Bill 702, approved by the Montana Legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte, states that government agencies may not deny someone “advantages” or “privileges” because of their vaccination status.

Jefferson County Public Health counselled with our county attorney and concluded that having different quarantine rules for people who are not vaccinated would go against HB 702. Under the law, it would be necessary to quarantine everyone for the same amount of time. Quarantining fully vaccinated people, who are less likely to carry and spread the virus, would mean having workers out of work and students out of school. As a result, Jefferson County Health Department will issue a letter to close contacts asking them to follow public health recommendations as stated below.