Rapid COVID Testing Frequently Asked Questions - Anne Arundel County Department of Health - Why Anticipation Is Key to Happiness
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And with new variants, such as omicron, BA. But rapid testing can also be confusing. And, for people who continue to test positive for coronavirus late into their infection, it may be particularly difficult to know what to do with those results. While most people who have COVID can expect to see a positive result for five to nine days , according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some do test positive for even longer than that. Those symptoms — congestion, sore throat, cough, fever — might be easily confused with other common illnesse s, such as the flu, allergies or the common cold.
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 first, even if there's a chance you're just dealing with seasonal allergies. If you've been exposed to a close contact who has COVID , you should take a test at least five days after your last contact with that person. And if you test negative, consider taking another test a day or two later to help confirm your results, the CDC suggests.
You can also take a test before attending an indoor gathering, especially if you know you won't be wearing a mask at that gathering. Taking a rapid test is also helpful prior to spending time with people who are particularly vulnerable to severe COVID symptoms, like those with certain underlying health conditions. Every household in the U. If you test positive for COVID, you can end your isolation after just five days if you never developed symptoms but should continue wearing a mask for another 10 days, according to the latest guidelines from the CDC.
Or, if you did develop symptoms, you can leave isolation after you've been without a fever for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication , provided your other symptoms are resolving as well.
That can be as early as after five full days of isolation, the CDC says. Continue to mask around other people for another five days. The CDC also amended its guidelines to add that, if you have access to a rapid antigen test, you can take the test at the end of day five of your isolation as long as you've been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
If it's negative, you can use that result to feel more confident about leaving isolation at that time, but continue to mask. If it's positive, the CDC says you should continue isolating through day That includes wearing a mask when around others, avoiding travel and avoiding being around people who have a high risk for severe COVID And if it's challenging to figure out what all those guidelines mean for your specific situation, take a look at the CDC's new quarantine and isolation calculator tool.
In the most general terms, people will likely test positive on an at-home rapid COVID test for about six to 10 days, Dr. Stephen Kissler, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T. And when it comes to PCR tests, which look for the virus's genetic material, people may test positive for even longer, Dr.
Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi, associate professor of pathology, molecular and cell-based medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explained. That makes it difficult to predict exactly how long someone may test positive. Even with a rapid test, which detects molecules on the virus's surface, it's not unheard of for people to test positive up to 14 days, especially for those who are unvaccinated, Kissler said. So if there's a gap of weeks or months in between your positive tests, you might be dealing with a whole new infection.
And the use of at-home COVID antiviral medications, like Paxlovid, may add another wrinkle: Some people are reporting that, after their symptoms resolve with treatment, the symptoms then return in a Paxlovid "rebound," Dr.
Along with the return of COVID symptoms, it's also possible to get another positive test — even if you tested negative within a few days, the CDC noted. So, if you're trying to do your due diligence and testing at home frequently during your COVID infection, know that it's possible for you to see positive results for a while. What to know about coronavirus reinfections. As long as you continue to test positive on a rapid at-home test, you should still consider yourself potentially contagious, Kissler said.
Some had positive viral cultures for as long as 12 days after the onset of their symptoms, suggesting they could still be contagious. When you get to that point, you have to start weighing your options about whether or not you need to start interacting with other people and how to do so as safely as possible. It is safest to continue to isolate until you no longer test positive, the experts stressed. But if you must interact with others before you test negative, you should take care to wear a high-quality mask, stay physically distanced when you can and avoid spending time in enclosed spaces around other people.
But that may not be feasible for everyone. And taking the CDC guidelines into account, it's not unreasonable to gradually leave isolation after 10 days — even if you're still testing positive on a rapid test, Kissler said.
That's especially true if you're fully vaccinated, any symptoms you developed have resolved, and you continue to take as many other precautions as you can until you get a negative result. If you're going to be around other people, he recommended avoiding enclosed spaces with others and wearing a mask, preferably something like a KN95 or KF94 , when coming into contact with people.
After 10 days, it's likely that "you're good to go, and you're even better to go if you keep practicing containment measures," Paniz-Mondolfi agreed. Keep practicing social distancing. And, of course, if you're concerned about how long you've been testing positive, check in with a health care provider for their guidance on your individual situation, Kissler said.
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