California hasn't adopted the new guidelines yet, but public health officials expect the state to do it and they think business owners will appreciate it.
The science of the omicron COVID variant is still a bit fuzzy, but the Centers for Disease Control has seen enough to give employers more flexibility to keep their businesses running.
Instead of keeping people isolated for ten days after a positive test or quarantined for ten days after exposure, the CDC now recommends only five days if symptoms are gone, plus five more days wearing a strong mask.
"I think this reflects that omicron is spreading very rapidly," said Dr. John Zweifler, a medical consultant for the Fresno County Department of Public Health. "We have a high number of cases, but we have to learn how to live with omicron and with COVID."
Studies show that people infected with COVID are usually infectious for between two and 14 days, but the majority are no longer contagious after five days.
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So Dr. Zweifler says the priority now seems to be getting essential workers back on the job more quickly, but as safely as possible.
In Mariposa County, where public health officials haven't identified omicron cases yet, new cases and hospitalizations are as low as they've been since August.
70% of the county's economy stems from tourism, so the county's health officer Eric Sergienko sees the reward and the risk of the new policy.
"Being able to return someone to work earlier and with a slightly increased risk of transmission in the workplace is helpful to our employers to keep their businesses open," said Sergienko.
The CDC said people who are vaccinated and boosted can usually skip quarantine altogether if they're exposed to a person with COVID.
But they recommend getting tested five days after exposure.
Public health officials point out the risks of the new recommendations could outweigh the rewards if a chunk of the population ignores all or part of them.
"The isolation is for five days, the quarantine is for five days, but there's still a requirement to wear a well-fitting mask for the following five days for both isolation and quarantine," Sergienko said. "And so the question is 'Will people adhere to those or will they go out and just continue what they're doing now, which is not taking those appropriate precautions to reduce transmission?'"
Public health officials say time will tell how bad the omicron wave will be for the healthcare system, but vaccinations and well-fitting masks are key to avoiding the worst possible outcomes.