The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new isolation guideline amid the Omicron variant that is currently driving a spike in new COVID cases, which was defended by the White House.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Anthony Fauci noted at the White House briefing on Wednesday that Omicron variant tends to cause severe illness, according to a Buzzfeed News report.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also spoke during the White House briefing and said that the new guidelines of shortening the isolation period to five days for asymptomatic people rooted from "two years of understanding transmissibility."

Walensky added that it was done to reduce staffing shortages in hospitals, with a further recommendation that there should be an additional five days of masking after the isolation period.

She noted that data shows people are largely less infectious after five days, according to an ABC News Go report.

Walensky said that they know that after five days, people are much less likely to infect others and that masking further reduces that risk, which is why there is a need to mask for five days after five days of isolation.

READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Stays at Delaware Beach Home With No Public Events as Omicron COVID Variant Continues to Surge

New Isolation Guidance Criticisms

The new CDC guidance has come under criticism from some health experts, saying that it was not based on "science" and could still cause infectious asymptomatic people to infect others.

Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, said that he does not think there is any big chance in science that justifies a change in the health agency's updated guidance, according to an NBC News report.

Gostin added that the recommendations have much more to do with "societal function than to do with science."

Other health experts have argued the same sentiment with Gostin.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said that the CDC should have included negative antigen tests to end isolation, adding that rapid tests are "great when used properly."

Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general under former President Donald Trump, also scrutinized the agency's decision in a Twitter thread, particularly the decision to omit the recommendation for COVID-positive individuals to take a test before ending isolation.

Walensky and other members of the White House COVID team said that the Food and Drug Administration did not plan to dissuade Americans from taking the tests but wanted to be "transparent."

Fauci also presented data from around the world about the lessened severity of the Omicron variant.

CDC's New Isolation Guidance

The CDC had announced the new isolation guidance on Monday, with Walensky noting that the country is about to see a lot of Omicron cases.

Walensky said that not all of those cases are going to be severe, saying that many are going to be asymptomatic, according to a CNBC News report.

The agency had shortened isolation rules for health care workers, noting that workers could go back to work after seven days if they tested negative and did not have any symptoms.

CDC added that isolation time could be cut to five days or even fewer if there are severe staffing shortages.

READ MORE: First Omicron Variant Death Reported in Texas; Patient Was Unvaccinated Who Previously Caught COVID

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by Mary Webber

WATCH: Critics raise questions about new CDC guidance on COVID-19 isolation period - from CBS News