How long can you test positive for COVID-19?

Even when the fever has subsided, the runny nose has stopped, the official five-day quarantine period has passed and the 10-day precautionary phase has ended, some people continue to test positive for Covid. while feeling perfectly healthy.

If you find yourself in this situation, you may not know what to do, especially since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides minimal guidance on this topic. Most people test themselves at home. Therefore, your discoveries are not tracked; however, a 2020 pre-vaccination survey of Florida school children found that 8.2% of high school students continued to test positive 9 to 14 days after their first positive test.

As the total number of cases in the country continues to rise, even small percentages can harm millions of people: according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the total number of covid cases in the United States has exceeded 85.7 million since the start of the pandemic, a likely undercount. due to the use of home testing.

Here's what you need to know about the event and what to do if it happens:

What to do if you continue to test positive after ten days

Positive Covid tests do not necessarily indicate contagiousness. Rapid tests detect certain protein fragments of the virus. However, these proteins themselves do not cause infection. The same goes for PCR tests, which identify the genetic material of a virus in your body.

To determine if positive test results indicate a person is infectious, scientists grow samples of these tests in Petri dishes to see if more virus can grow, which would indicate that the virus is still alive and active. . Recent research from Boston University, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, found that only 17% of people were likely infectious six days after their first positive test.

There is currently no method to determine which category it belongs to. However, according to most specialists, if your symptoms have subsided, you probably no longer need to self-isolate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends self-isolating for five days after testing positive and releasing from quarantine after 24 hours with no fever and no improvement in symptoms. According to the agency's recommendations, you should continue to wear a mask until day 10, a precaution in case you are still contagious.

“Follow CDC recommendations and wear a mask for the next five days,” he advises.

How soon after exposure to COVID can someone test positive?

According to the CDC, the incubation period for COVID is between two and fourteen days; however, the agency's most recent recommendation proposes a five-day quarantine for people who have not received a booster but are eligible or unvaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises anyone wishing to get tested after exposure to do so five days after exposure or if they develop symptoms.

Those who have received boosters, immunizations and full immunizations but are not yet eligible for a booster dose are exempt from quarantine. They must wear masks for ten days and be tested five days after exposure unless they show symptoms.

Arwady said an additional seven-day trial could benefit people who have been vaccinated and given a booster.

Positive does not mean contagious

The period required for a negative test after contracting COVID-19 depends on the severity of the infection and the nature of the test. PCR tests that look for bits of viral genetic material (RNA in the case of COVID-19) in our bodies and amplify them so we can detect them are incredibly sensitive and can identify the presence of even a small number of viral fragments. . Indeed, fragments of viral RNA can persist in our body long after the infection has ended and the virus has been eliminated.

Several days after the initial infection, lateral flow tests that look for viral proteins called antigens are less sensitive and less likely to be positive. If a PCR test is positive, but an antigen test is negative, we are probably not infectious and only have residual viral RNA.

Unfortunately, many people can test positive for COVID-19 for weeks or even months. Still, there is good news: even if they test positive, they are unlikely to be contagious and therefore unlikely to transmit the virus. However, if a PCR and protein-based antigen test come back positive, we can still be infectious. Indeed, a prolonged presence of viral proteins indicates that the virus reproduces and produces more of its basic material.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people self-isolate for ten days after symptoms appear (or from the time of diagnosis if they are asymptomatic) plus three days after symptoms disappear. There are exceptions to this rule: if a person has symptoms for, say, 30 days, they should be isolated until they are asymptomatic.

It is important to note that the World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends that vaccinated people who have symptoms of COVID-19 or who live near someone with COVID-19 be careful with social interactions, although some countries have changed their national guidelines when it comes to this. For more information, click here.