'Here's How Long People w COVID-19 May Remain Contagious, Acc. To The Best Available Data'
- 'Here's how long people with COVID-19 may remain contagious, according to the best available data,' Business Insider/MSN, Jan. 22, 2022. - Ed.
-- UK health officials estimated the impact of different isolation periods on COVID-19 infectiousness.
-- 5 days from symptoms or a positive test, 31% of people with COVID-19 were contagious, they said.
-- Testing negative on rapid tests on days 5 and 6 cut the risk of being infectious to 7%, they said.
-- It's a critical question that has played on the minds of individuals with COVID-19 who want to see friends and relatives again: how long should I isolate for to make sure I'm not contagious?
So far, there doesn't seem to be a universally accepted answer.
In the US, government rules allow most people to end isolation after 5 days without having to take a test; that contrasts with the UK, where Brits with COVID-19 can exit at day 6 but only after testing negative for the last 2 days of isolation and without a fever. Without a test, they have to wait 10 full days. Policymakers have to strike the balance between limiting the advance of the pandemic, while preventing the economy from grinding to a halt. President Biden's chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said December 28 that US COVID-19 isolation guidelines were designed to "get people back to jobs."
But some disease experts in both the UK and US have warned that isolation guidance doesn't follow science and risks people inadvertently spreading the virus at work or school, especially if they haven't taken a test. Robert Wachter, a professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of CA, San Francisco said on Twitter January 14, that his son's rapid test was positive at Day 10. "If we hadn't tested, he'd be on his 3rd day of work," he said.
The UK Health and Security Agency, which informs UK policy, estimated that almost a 3rd of people with COVID-19 were still contagious 5 days after symptom onset or a positive test. Only 7% of people who isolated for 5 days and tested negative on days 5 and 6 of isolation were still contagious, according to the models. For comparison, the amount of people infectious after 10 days is 5%, the data shows.
.. The estimates are also not specifically for Omicron infections...
- Read More,
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/heres-how-long-people-with-covid-19-may-remain-contagious-according-to-the-best-available-data/ar-AAT1XAW
