Available data suggests that individuals with mild to moderate COVID-19 remain infectious for no more than 10 days after the onset of symptoms. Recent research has indicated that a person infected with the virus can spread it up to 72 hours before they start exhibiting any symptoms and up to 10 days after the symptoms have gone away. People who test positive for the virus but have no symptoms within 10 days of the test result are considered to be no longer contagious after those 10 days. However, there may be exceptions to these times, so experts recommend 10 days of isolation after testing positive for the virus, being exposed to a person infected with COVID-19, or developing any symptoms.
The best way to make sure you don't get infected for a long time is to have two negative COVID-19 tests more than 24 hours apart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that people who have been seriously ill from COVID-19 or who are severely immunocompromised may need to remain isolated for more than 10 days and up to 20 days because they may continue to produce viral particles. Some viruses are able to replicate, spread, and spread even after symptoms have stopped. Scientists are still studying the new coronavirus and the evidence we have so far has given us a solid idea of this period for the vast majority of patients.
There are still some outliers, but most patients are within the contagion deadlines. Severe cases of COVID-19 disease and people who are immunocompromised would need individual advice from infectious disease experts because they may be able to be contagious longer than other people.
