Symptom onset The first symptoms of COVID-19 can be more gradual. While COVID-19 symptoms can develop as early as two days after you're infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says five days after infection is typical.
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms.
The flu usually hits you fast.
By contrast, COVID-19 symptoms usually take longer to develop – two to 14 days after exposure to the virus. A cold usually peaks in two or three days. The flu generally lasts five to seven days.
Sometimes the symptoms can even go away and come back again. For some people, Long COVID can last weeks, months, or years after COVID-19 illness and can sometimes result in disability.
On June 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added three symptoms to its COVID-19 list: Congestion/stuffy nose, nausea and diarrhea. Those three new conditions now join other symptoms identified by the CDC: Fever.
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.
You may wonder if a sore throat is still a sign of COVID-19, and does COVID start with a sore throat? Yes, sore throat and COVID-19 are still closely associated, and it's often one of the first symptoms.
A dry cough is one of the most common coronavirus symptoms, but some people may have a cough with phlegm (thick mucus). It can be difficult to control your cough but there are a few ways to help.
Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should isolate through at least day 20.
Many people who are infected have more mild symptoms like a scratchy throat, stuffy or runny nose, occasional mild cough, fatigue, and no fever. Some people have no symptoms at all, but they can still spread the disease.” Fever seems to be one of the more common early markers of COVID-19, Kline noted.
How soon after exposure to COVID-19 do symptoms appear? The COVID-19 incubation period, which is the time between when a person is exposed to the virus and when their symptoms first appear, ranges from 1 to 14 days. Most people develop symptoms 5 to 6 days after being in contact with a person with COVID-19.
When do omicron subvariant symptoms start? The time it takes for an infected person to develop symptoms after an exposure is shorter for the omicron variant than for previous variants — from a full week down to as little as three days or less, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, symptoms showed up in the newly infected person about 5.6 days after contact. Rarely, symptoms appeared as soon as 2 days after exposure. Most people with symptoms had them by day 12.
If you do not have symptoms but have been exposed to COVID-19, wait at least 5 full days after your exposure before taking a test. If you are only going to take a single test, a PCR test will provide a more reliable negative test result.
Negative test result
There's still a chance you could have the virus, so you should follow the advice on how to avoid catching and spreading COVID-19. If you're eligible for COVID-19 treatments and you get a negative result, you must report your result as you may need to do another test.
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.
Symptoms of a cold tend to be mild. You may have a runny nose, cough, congestion, and sore throat. But you won't usually have the aches and fever that are common with COVID-19 and flu. Often, you'll feel better in a couple of days.
Generally, those infected with SARS-CoV-2 are most likely to be highly infectious a few days before COVID-19 symptoms start and the following five days. If you've been exposed to COVID-19 or test positive, it's important to take precautions so you don't infect your loved ones.
Most sore throats are caused by viruses, such as the cold or flu virus. Some of the more serious causes of sore throat include tonsillitis, strep throat, and mononucleosis (mono). Other causes include smoking, mouth breathing at night while you sleep, pollution, and allergies to pets, pollens and molds.
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.
If your test is positive, you are likely still contagious. You should continue to isolate and wear a mask and wait 24-48 hours to test again. If you test negative on two sequential (back-to-back) tests performed 24-48 hours apart from each other, you can end isolation and stop wearing a mask before day 10.
How long do omicron symptoms last? Most people who test positive with any variant of COVID-19 typically experience some symptoms for a couple weeks. People who have long COVID-19 symptoms can experience health problems for four or more weeks after first being infected, according to the CDC.
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.