If you are significantly immunosuppressed, you are more likely to be infectious for longer than 7 days and may still be able to spread the virus. Follow these measures until day 14 following your positive test result to further reduce any remaining risk of spreading the virus.
But some people may be infectious for up to 10 days. Symptoms in children and babies are milder than those in adults, and some infected kids may not show any signs of being unwell. People who experience more serious illness may take weeks to recover. Symptoms may continue for several weeks after infection.
People with moderate or severe COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 10. Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days.
Even if mild symptoms remain, you are likely not contagious after 10 days.
If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home. You are likely most infectious during these first 5 days. Wear a high-quality mask if you must be around others at home and in public. Do not go places where you are unable to wear a mask.
And research done by the CDC shows about half of people were still testing positive on the antigen test between five and nine days after symptom onset or diagnosis.
After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time. Some tests, especially PCR tests, may continue to show a positive result for up to 90 days.
You can spread the common cold from a few days before your symptoms appear until all of the symptoms are gone. Most people will be contagious for up to 2 weeks. Symptoms are usually worse during the first 2 to 3 days, and this is when you're most likely to spread the virus.
Cold-related coughs can last for up to eight weeks. The good news is that you're typically only contagious for the first three to five days of the initial respiratory infection, says Dr. Buhr.
When you have a cold, your symptoms are usually worse in the first two to three days. That's when you are most likely to spread your cold to others. In general, you are contagious a few days before your symptoms start until all your symptoms are gone. Most people are contagious about two weeks.
No, long COVID cannot be passed from one person to another. Having long COVID does not mean that you are still contagious.
Gradually build up exercise – seize the time when you are feeling less tired and go for a short walk – but you MUST still avoid any contact with others. However, at this stage lookout for breath related symptoms (see below what to look for).
Some people can test positive for COVID-19 for weeks or even months on PCR tests, but there is good news: people are not likely to be contagious for that long from a single infection, even if they test positive, and therefore are unlikely to transmit the virus to others.
You may need to get tested even if you do not have symptoms. You can have COVID-19 and spread it to others even if you do not have symptoms. Your COVID-19 test can be negative even if you are infected. Most people do not test positive for the virus until days after exposure.
You may be infectious for up to 10 days. You are most infectious in the 2 days before your symptoms start and while you have acute symptoms (such as a runny nose, sore throat, fever, cough). Some people with COVID-19 do not develop symptoms at all but are still able to infect others.
You have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND. other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND. at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.
Can a dry cough be contagious? Yes, depending on the cause, a dry cough can be contagious. Dry coughs can be due to post-nasal drip, or mucus dripping from the back of the nose into the throat. Additionally, a dry cough can also be due to smoking (smoker's cough).
You're generally contagious with a cold 1-2 days before your symptoms start, and you could be contagious as long as your symptoms are present—in rare cases, up to 2 weeks. The contagious period for the flu can last as long as 5-7 days from when you first felt sick.
You are most infectious (or contagious) in the first 5 days after your symptoms start. You can also spread COVID-19 in the 48 hours before your symptoms start. If you never have symptoms, consider yourself most infectious in the 5 days after you test positive.
But unless you've got other symptoms like aches or fever, get dressed and go to work! If you've been sick for a few days and you now cough up darker yellow mucus, it's still probably just a cold. But if it goes on this way for more than a week, it's a good idea to see your doctor.
If you see any line on your COVID test, err on the side of caution and take precautions to avoid spreading the virus to others. While a dark line that shows up quickly is a sign that there's more virus in your body, even a faint line can be positive (and may turn darker if you test again in the coming days).
If you continue to test positive on repeat testing through 10 days, you should continue to wear a mask and avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease until you receive two sequential negative antigen test results.
There is no single test for Long COVID. While most people with Long COVID have evidence of infection or COVID-19 illness, in some cases, a person with Long COVID may not have tested positive for the virus or known they were infected.
Taken all together, the average incubation period of COVID between December 1, 2019, and February 10, 2022, was 6.57 days. Even though the incubation period is shorter, COVID-19 still has a longer incubation period than other respiratory infections.
A person may have mild symptoms for about one week, then worsen rapidly. Let your doctor know if your symptoms quickly worsen over a short period of time.