How Long is Covid Contagious – Even after 2 ½ years, COVID-19 is still a big issue in the world. The positive cases of the virus are once again rising in the whole world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.
Health experts have already told everyone that COVID-19 will keep coming back with its different variants. We do not have to worry about it coming back in different waves and variants.
Governments around the world are doing everything in their hand to contain the spread of the virus and Lower the intensity of different waves. Regular testing, vaccination, and the correct information regarding the virus are going to help you in the future.
Today we will discuss how long COVID is contagious so that you can ensure the safety of your friends and family without hurting your day-to-day activities.
The Incubation Period of COVID
You might have heard about health experts discussing a period between your getting exposed to the virus and developing symptoms related to the virus.
During the first and second waves of COVID-19 in the United States, it was a huge topic of discussion as several health institutions around the world issued several reports regarding the incubation period of COVID.
Most reports regarding the incubation period of COVID contained the original variant of the virus, and as per their research and study, it was pretty clear that the average time you develop symptoms after getting exposure is around 5.6 days.
In some cases where a person is already struggling with some chronic disease, there is a probability that you or that person might develop symptoms even after the second day of their exposure.
The maximum time a person can take to develop symptoms related to COVID-19 after exposure to the virus is around 14 days. All these numbers are from the original variant of the virus.
As per the latest numbers, the omicron variant of COVID-19 and its sub-variants can Start developing symptoms related to COVID-19 Even after the third day of your exposure, and the previous average number has now dropped to three days.
Time of Symptoms
Once you have crossed the incubation period of COVID-19, you will start developing symptoms related to the virus.
In the original studies, every health expert suggests that you should be in isolation for around two weeks. Now that timing has also been reduced to five days, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also changed their guidelines related to quarantine and isolation.
Even as per those guidelines, you are free to end your isolation and quarantine after five days, along with the condition that you have already spent 24 hours fever free without using any fever-reducing medicine.
The above-given timeline of five days is for people who are not developing any severe symptoms related to COVID-19. In case people have developed severe symptoms related to COVID-19, the timeline of five days is going to extend to five more days.
After that, your healthcare provider is going to let you know whether you are contagious with the virus or not.
Post-Covid
Once a person starts feeling better and recovers from the symptoms related to COVID-19, it doesn’t mean that person is completely free to go out and have a normal life without following any guidelines related to COVID-19.
Most health experts around the world have already suggested to everyone that they should spend at least some days post-recovery from the symptoms of COVID-19.
If you look clearly at the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention regarding isolation and quarantine, you will see that they have mentioned that you should be following COVID protocols even if you have ended your isolation after the 5th day.
Even if you start feeling better from the symptoms related to COVID-19, the virus is in your body, but its ability to impact you is going down. At the same time, it can impact and affect others around you.
Most studies and the guidelines issued by the CDC regarding isolation and quarantine suggest that you should be following COVID protocols even after your recovery from COVID-19. The timeline of post-COVID can be five days.
The Guidelines of the CDC
Before we wrap up this session, let’s discuss a few guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention regarding isolation and quarantine.
These guidelines are going to help you in two ways. First, you will understand how long COVID is contagious, and you will learn about the isolation and quarantine guidelines of the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already clearly mentioned that you should be spending at least five days in isolation if you get exposed to the virus, and you are not up to date with your vaccines.
In case you do not develop any symptoms related to COVID-19 or your test came positive, then you can end your isolation, but you should be following post-COVID guidelines for at least five days.
Lastly, if a person starts developing symptoms related to coronavirus or your test came positive, then you should go in isolation or quarantine time regardless of your vaccination status.
You should spend five days in isolation, and after five days, if you can spend 24 hours fever free without using any fever-reducing medicine, then you can end your isolation. Under any circumstances, you should keep following COVID protocols until the 10th day you start developing symptoms, or your test comes positive.
Can I start developing symptoms related to COVID-19 on the same day of exposure to the virus?
No, you cannot start developing symptoms related to COVID-19 on the same day of your exposure to the virus. There is a concept called the incubation period, and it also applies to COVID-19. Previously the incubation period of COVID-19 was around 5 to 10 days, and now it has been reduced to three to five days. The overall period of COVID-19 can be around 15 to 20about