How Long Can You Continue to Test Positive for COVID-19? If you receive a positive COVID test result, CDC guidance states that you should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your residence. Case report: change of dominant strain during dual SARS-CoV-2 infection. She taught residents and medical students at Brown University in RI. Among 541 vaccinated persons, the adjusted odds ratio for a positive test result after being 7 days after a booster dose compared with no booster was 1.69 (95% CI = 1.132.52), after adjusting for age group, days since symptom onset or positive test result, previous infection status, and whether symptoms were reported. Adjusted for age group, days since symptom onset or positive test result, previous infection status, previous vaccination status, and whether symptoms were reported. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. With an antigen test or rapid test, you can test positive for a few weeks after your initial test. You should continue wearing a mask and wait at least 48 hours before taking another test. At-home antigen tests may return positive results for 10 days -- or even longer, up to 14 days, according to The New York Times. High levels: Everyone should be wearing a mask if a high number of COVID-19 cases are being reported in your community. If you're going to spend time with people who are high-risk, think twice, says Landon. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. Clin Infect Dis 2021. QUESTION: Do I need to have another COVID-19 test before I return to work or regular activity following the five days of isolation? "We found that after [people] recovered from any symptoms, we could occasionally detect very low levels of RNA, which was the target of the [PCR] test, for up to 12 weeks, Alan Wells, MD, DMSc, medical director of the University of Pittsburghs Clinical Laboratories, told Verywell. Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute), using a two-sided significance threshold of p<0.05; univariate comparisons were made using the chi-square test. Follow FDA and manufacturers instructions, including for the number of times you may need to test. People who continue to have symptoms or are immunocompromised, for instance, may continue to shed viral particles for longer periods of time and should continue to isolate, the Times reported. The purpose should be to identify current infections. A positive test can be short-lived or can persist for months,Robert Amler, MD, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York, told Verywell via email. Jones TC, Biele G, Mhlemann B, et al. Inhal Toxicol. If you were exposed to someone who has COVID-19 and you do not have symptoms, wait at least 5 full days after your exposure before testing. There are two main types of tests COVID-19 that can be used to detect an active infection. Going to a Super Bowl Party? People who are at high risk of getting sick and those who are around at-risk people should also consider avoiding non-essential activities in public that take place indoors. COVID Rebound Can Happen Without Paxlovid. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You are likely most infectious. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.10.22269010v2external icon. Antigen tests, available over the counter, detect proteins on the surface of the virus itself. Testing to get out of isolation is tempting because it promises a straightforward answer. Any positive COVID-19 test means the virus was detected and you have an infection. Killingley B, Mann A, Kalinova M, et al. 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. Here's what to know about how long you can test positive for COVID-19 and what to do if your test comes back positive. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:2126. Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly the science is not entirely settled. Cold, flu or allergies? When Should You Test (and Possibly Retest) After Being Exposed to COVID-19? Now researchers are trying to understand why some people test positive for longer periods of time. The proportion of positive results declined over time. The antigen test may have missed an early infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some researchers have criticized these rules pointing to research that shows some people may remain infectious after day five. QUESTION: Does my entire household need to be tested to ensure they are not positive following my positive COVID-19 antigen test? However, if you test positive after your symptoms start improving, you may still be infectious. https://www.ykhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/010522-YKHC-Guidance-for-Vaccinated-and-Unvaccinated-Individuals-1.pdfpdf iconexternal icon, https://www.fda.gov/media/141570/downloadexternal icon. It depends on several factors, experts say, and the most important part is which test you use. With two sequential negative tests 48 hours apart, you may remove your mask sooner than day 10. 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. "There's actually a lot more discrepancy than anyone would be happy with," he says. This COVID-19 test detects certain proteins in the virus. You need two consecutive negative results before masking is discontinued. Isolation is recommended during acute infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but the duration of infectiousness varies among individual persons. Instead, workplaces should adhere to the same isolation/masking recommendations for the general population. All tests should be performed following FDAs requirements. By the day of the initial positive test, 541 (74.2%) had completed a primary COVID-19 vaccination series 14 days earlier, including 215 (39.7%) who had also received a booster dose; 21 (2.9%) persons were partially vaccinated, and 167 (22.9%) were unvaccinated. Adjusted analyses excluded 21 persons (14 symptomatic and seven asymptomatic). You also should stay home and isolate until you get the PCR test results back. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Abbreviation: NAAT = nucleic acid amplification test. Ending isolation and precautions for people with COVID-19: interim guidance, Summary of guidance for minimizing the impact of COVID-19 on individual persons, communities, and health care systems - United States, August 2022, Clinical guidance for recovered/previously positive COVID-19 patients, Diagnostics for COVID-19: moving from pandemic response to control, Interim guidance for SARS-CoV-2 testing in non-healthcare workplaces, What you should know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO laws, A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, 6 October 2021, Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adults aged 18 years - Long Beach, California, April 1-December 10, 2020, Case report: change of dominant strain during dual SARS-CoV-2 infection. What Should You Do If You Feel Sick but Keep Testing Negative for COVID? "It's not super, super common, but it certainly does happen.". Coronavirus FAQ: Got any tips on improving indoor air flow to reduce infection risks. This will ensure your care team can help you with any COVID-19-related care needs if you continue to have prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 or need to seek additional care related to COVID-19. ** Defined as previous positive SARS-CoV-2 NAAT or antigen test result >90 days before current episode, irrespective of vaccination status. Overall, 396 (54.3%) tested persons had a positive BinaxNOW antigen test 59 days after symptom onset or after an initial positive test (Table 1). Why is it taking so long to test COVID-19 negative? - Poynter The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. If you live with or are often around someone who is at high risk, you may also want to wear a mask when indoors with that person (and get tested before you see them). Read our, What to Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19, Why the CDC Shortened COVID Isolation to 5 Days. NOTE: You also should check with your employer, school district or public health department for exact isolation guidelines for you and/or your family if you test positive for COVID-19, as those guidelines may differ. A person may want to begin testing as early as 1-2 days after a known exposure and continue testing for up to a week. Compared with no COVID-19 vaccination. The proportion of positive follow-up antigen test results was also lower after previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination and was lowest among vaccinated persons with a previous infection. The science isn't entirely settled on whether a rapid antigen test indicates whether a person is still contagious. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. More information is available, Travel requirements to enter the United States are changing, starting November 8, 2021. Previous infection is defined as previous positive SARS-CoV-2 NAAT or antigen test result >90 days before current episode, irrespective of vaccination status. That's because some people will still be infectious after five days, she says. If symptoms return after you have recovered or worsen after the isolation period, the CDC recommends restarting isolation at day 0. Persons are estimated to be most infectious approximately 4 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection (4), and SARS-CoV-2 virus generally can be cultured up to 10 days after symptom onset (3). They are also sometimes used to aid in the diagnosis of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS), a rare but severe complication of COVID-19 in adults and children. Antigen tests might be a useful tool to guide recommendations for isolation after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Dr. Christine Zink, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with expertise in global medicine. After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time after. You can be somewhat reassured by a negative test, but the positive test is not particularly helpful, Tara Bouton, MD, the lead study author and an infectious disease specialist at the Boston University School of Medicine, told the newspaper. Reinfections can occur within 90 days, which can make it hard to know if a positive test indicates a new infection. It depends on how long ago you tested positive and whether or not you have symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if you test positive for COVID-19 and isolate for five days, you don't need to retest if your symptoms have cleared or are improving. Excluded 21 persons with partial vaccination (14 symptomatic infections and seven asymptomatic infections). Compared with asymptomatic infection. Persons were considered vaccinated if 14 days had elapsed since completion of a primary COVID-19 vaccination series and were considered to have received a booster dose if 7 days had elapsed after receipt of their booster dose. But there is no perfect study that shows how likely it is that a positive test on a rapid test translates into shedding enough virus that you could actually infect another person, says Dr. Geoffrey Baird, chair of the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. When you reach the end of the recommended isolation period, your symptoms will determine whether you can end isolation: It is not necessary to retest after recovering from COVID-19, but it is recommended to take further precaution and mask up through day 10. If you still have a fever, regardless of how many days you've been in isolation, stay home and monitor your symptoms until you no longer have a fever. World Health Organization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. * Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag (BinaxNOW) rapid antigen test. Should You Retest After Testing Positive for COVID-19And if So, When? You are likely most infectious. Preliminary data from scientists at Harvard and MIT shows that about 25% of symptomatic people with COVID-19 had virus that could be cultured after eight days after symptom onset or their first test. Landon says it's extra information that can give you a sense of how to proceed, especially if people are banking on the CDC guidance to determine whether to end isolation. Guidance for Antigen Testing for SARS-CoV-2 for Healthcare Providers If you have COVID-19 symptoms and test positive on an at-home test, you have COVID-19. If you test positive for COVID-19 while you are traveling, you will need to follow the guidelines for isolation, testing, and treatment where you are. The CDC guidelines do not apply to moderately or severely ill people with COVID-19 or those with weakened immune systems. For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. What To Expect if You Contract the Virus. All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. That's because it's also possible to test positive for COVID-19 for weeks or even months after your initial infection despite being symptom-free. In this study conducted after SARS-CoV-2 infection during emergence of the Omicron variant, the majority of persons with follow-up testing had a positive antigen test result 59 days after symptom onset, or, among asymptomatic persons, after the initial positive diagnostic test. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Even if the virus is dead, the RNA can still be hanging around, so you can get a false-positive [PCR test result] up to two months or so after the infection," said Dr. Dowdy. * The initial test was a nucleic acid amplification test or antigen test for SARS-CoV-2. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.01.22269931v1.full.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. The sample was limited to persons whose symptoms were already resolving and might not be representative of all reported cases in other ways.