In a study published in JAMA Network Open in October, researchers looked at repeated rapid testing results for 942 people during last winter's omicron BA.1 wave. If your symptoms aren't improving after five days of isolation, you should stay isolated until you're feeling better and you've gone 24 hours without a fever (and without using fever-reducing medications). It's particularly important to rule out COVID-19 if you're feeling under the weather before getting your updated COVID-19 booster shot, experts told TODAY.com previously. While zealously doing additional tests may seem prudent, it doesnt stand to be that useful. This may warrant extending the duration of isolation and precautions for up to 20 days after symptom onset (with day 0 being the day symptoms appeared). "So far, the recommendation from the CDC has been that even if people continue to test positive if it's after 10 days, that that is still the end of their isolation "They keep picking up dead virus in your nose for sometimes for weeks, but you can't grow that virus in the lab. We're entering our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and some people continue to test positive for coronavirus late into their infection. In some cases, these people may still be shedding infectious virus, but in others, the tests may be picking up viral debris from a waning infection, experts say, making it difficult to know how to interpret the results. But because we are still in the midst of a pandemic, it's a good idea to take a test to help rule out COVID-19 first, even if you may just be dealing with seasonal allergies. If youre not sure whether your test is truly positive, you should check with your doctor, get a PCR test or take a second rapid test the next day (and behave like you really do have COVID-19 in the meantime). And tests may be available at community health centers for people who dont have insurance. HealthBeat. All rights reserved. But, as experts told TODAY.com previously, rebound cases appear to be generally mild and, crucially, antiviral medications are still keeping people out of the hospital. Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly the science is not entirely settled. At-home antigen tests may return positive results for 10 days -- or even longer, up to 14 days, according to The New York Times. If you dont, then theres no point in doing the test. That's partly due to the fact that two newish variants are causing more than half of all cases in the country, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. Wroblewski said an important gauge of contagiousness is the simplest: how someone is feeling. But several others said that, as a matter of public health policy, it does not make sense to ask most otherwise healthy people to isolate, or even keep testing, for more than 10 days. Learn what to do with those results, the best way to store your COVID-19 rapid tests, when pharmacies will get free N95 masks and more. And a third study, of 260 vaccinated health care workers in Chicago, found that overall, 43% were testing positive on rapid antigen tests five to 10 days after infection with omicron even though they felt well enough to return to work. The two experts I checked with, Coffey, as well as Dr. Robin Colgrove, an assistant professor and infectious disease specialist at Harvard Medical School, agreed that after 10 days of isolation, you probably dont need to keep testing at all if youre not immunocompromised. Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Don't Contain Fetal Tissue, Can You Get COVID Twice? That's especially true if you're fully vaccinated, any symptoms you developed have resolved, and you continue to take other precautions (especially masking) until you get a negative result. If symptoms recur or worsen, the isolation period should restart at day 0. If you're one of the many people who traveled or attended a festive holiday gathering in the past few weeks, it's a good idea to take a rapid COVID-19 test a few days afterward. Follow CDC guidance and wear a mask for the following five days, she said. Jasmine Reed, a CDC spokeswoman, says most COVID-19 patients test positive at five days, and a fairly large percentage test positive after 10 days. In that case, you should check with your doctor, the experts said, but a home rapid test could also come in handy at that point. Indeed, infectious disease experts tend to differ about how much stock to put in a rapid test result when someone knows they're infected and deciding whether it's safe to rejoin the outside world. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. If you continue to test positive, is it possible you're still infectious? And tests may be available at community health centers for people who dont have insurance. Updated guidance reflects new recommendations for isolation and precautions for people with COVID-19. For some, that may mean still testing positive at 10 days or more. After undergoing five days of isolation and an additional five days of strict mask wearing, some people are still testing positive for COVID-19, even though the recommended isolation period has ended. Note that the use of fever-reducing medication includes the usual medications, like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, but it also includes any drugs (like over-the-counter cold and flu medicine) that contain those ingredients, Volk says. What to do in the face of that uncertainty? Coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on Health News Florida. The safest strategy is to continue to isolate until you're no longer testing positive, the experts stress. Researchers in the U.K. used a newly adapted test to find that some people who contract SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could still transmit the virus to "And if you get a positive test right out of the gate, you can trust that test (result).". For someone who is still testing positive for COVID-19 after day 10, its unlikely that theyre going to be very infectious, Volk says. Again, you should keep wearing a mask when you're around other people for 10 days. For people who have mild symptoms, the CDC no longer recommends using results from rapid tests to determine when you can end isolation. Dr. Ashish Jha on how to protect your family over the holidays, a good idea to take a rapid COVID-19 test, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those illnesses all have similar symptoms, might be easily confused with other common illnesses, get your COVID-19 booster and flu shot at the same time, you've been exposed to a close contact who has COVID-19, program that provided free at-home COVID-19 tests, CDCs new quarantine and isolation calculator. "What folks really need to understand is that right now we are in flu season and RSV season and we still have COVID hanging around," Dr. Emily Volk, president of the College of American Pathologists, tells TODAY.com. You can also take a test before attending an indoor gathering, especially if you know you won't be wearing a mask. If your test is positive and you are in the midst of an active COVID-19 infection, you should wait until your isolation period is over before getting your vaccine, the CDC recommends. "Test as soon as you have symptoms," Volk recommends. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/health/coronavirus-testing-positive.html. And, if you're in high-risk situations on a trip (like a crowded indoor party), the CDC recommends taking a rapid test when you get back. Several infectious-disease experts said they believe patients with covid should have a negative antigen test which gives results within minutes before exiting isolation. And people who have recently recovered from Covid might want to take a rapid test as a precaution before engaging in any particularly risky activities, such as meeting with an immunocompromised person or attending a large, indoor event. After all, Baird points out that these tests were never designed to function as get-out-of-isolation cards. There are two exceptions. In a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases in June, researchers found that 17% of participants had active viral cultures beyond day five. The CDC previously said people can possibly test positive for up to three months after contracting an infection. That makes it difficult to predict exactly how many days someone will test positive. Regardless of when you end isolation, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should take certain precautions for 10 full days, the CDC says including masking around others, avoiding travel and limiting contact with people who have a high risk for severe COVID-19. However, Dr. Stephen Kissler, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Theyre probably less contagious than they were in the first few days, she added. Added information around the management of persons who may have prolonged viral shedding after recovery. Home. For someone who is still testing positive for COVID-19 after day 10, its unlikely that theyre going to be very infectious, Volk says. Revised title to include isolation in all settings other than health settings, not just home. A, Isolation can be discontinued at least 5 daysafter symptom onset (day 0 is the day symptoms appeared, and day 1 is the next full day thereafter) if fever has resolved for at least 24 hours (without taking fever-reducing medications). Its probably a good idea, out of an abundance of caution, to still wear a mask for 48 hours until they can take another test, she adds. That percentage declined over the following days, but an estimated 20 percent were still positive on Day 11, according to the study, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal. After 10 days, it's likely that "you're good to go," Paniz-Mondolfi agrees, and he says you're "even better to go" if you keep practicing those precautionary measures especially wearing a mask until you get a negative test. But people at that stage of infection would not be likely to play a large role in spreading the virus, and continued testing could keep many people out of work or school without much public health benefit, he said. pic.twitter.com/sHuaSuGaGP, There isnt a clear-cut answer here. While cough, shortness of breath and fever are still possible symptoms of COVID-19, according to the CDC, the virus now seems to be causing a milder illness overall, experts say. If you have to be around others, you should wear a high-quality mask, such as a N95 or KN95 respirator. If you develop any symptoms that might signal COVID-19, you should take a home test immediately, the CDC says. They Went Extremely Hardcore for Elon Musk and He Axed Them Anyway, One of the Worlds Most Dangerous Places Is About to Drill One of Its Most Important Mines. But there are a lot of factors that can affect how long someone may test positive. And, of course, there's the common cold to think about, as well. One lesson is that prolonged positive results are common enough that people who leave isolation before Day 10 should continue to take precautions, such as wearing a well-fitting mask, experts said. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. First, you should isolate from others for at least five full days after your positive test, current CDC guidelines state. You might be able to begin slowly sort of reintegrating while still being mindful of your contact," Kissler says. If you keep testing nonetheless, and your rapid test does turn up positive after 10 days, Coffey advises that you take additional precautions, like wearing a mask, keeping up good hand hygiene, and avoiding people who are high-risk (including those who are immunocompromised) until 14 to 20 days after infection and abatement of symptoms, just in case. But Hay cautions there is considerable variation in the studies because of small sample sizes, differing populations, how the rapid tests are done, the vaccination status of who's being tested and how healthy they are, among other factors. Isolation and precautions can be discontinued 10 daysafter symptom onset (day 0 is the day symptoms appeared, and day 1 is the next full day thereafter). This tracks with other research. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. (Yes, it is frustrating that there is no clear, easy-to-access guidance on what you should do if this is your situation.) Here's what to know. For someone who is still testing positive for COVID-19 after day 10, its unlikely that theyre going to be very infectious, Volk says. But how to interpret your results isn't always obvious. And, in the U.S., COVID-19 cases are climbing just as fast. Chan School of Public Health. The study was not large enough to draw conclusions about how common this would be or how long the effect might last, she said. If its on or near day 5 of your isolation and youre still testing positive, the CDC recommends you continue staying home and away from others for an additional five These variables can impact someone's ability go back to work even after five days of isolation and another five days of A test-based strategy is no longer recommended to determine when to discontinue home isolation, except in certain circumstances. A Boston University study revealed that just 17% of people were likely still contagious six days after their first positive tests. But this is asking a lot of folks, she adds. "If you have enough virus in your system to be turning one of these tests positive, that means your body probably hasn't yet fully cleared the infection," says Hay. People who are infected but asymptomatic or people with mild COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 5 (day 0 is the day symptoms appeared or the date the specimen was collected for the positive test for people who are asymptomatic). If you're one of the many people who traveled or attended a festive holiday gathering in the past few weeks, it's a good idea to take a rapid COVID-19 test a few days afterward. For example, one study analyzing data from a testing site in San Francisco during the January omicron surge suggests that many people were still testing positive after five days. Generally, people are no longer contagious about 10 days after the onset of symptoms. 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