This has been a topic of discussion a fair amount lately, especially with kids going back to school and the POTUS’ testing positive for Covid-19.

How long does one quarantine for? That brings me to my first point: does one quarantine or isolate?

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There has been significant confusion surrounding these two words and while they are often used interchangeably, they are in fact NOT interchangeable!

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If you are quarantining, Stay home for 14 days after exposure, keep away from high-risk people especially and monitor for symptoms

If you are isolating: Stay home and in a dedicated area/bathroom if possible if you live with others. Disinfect high touch areas. Isolate for at least 10 days:

1- if you have no symptoms

2- if you have mild/moderate symptoms

Per CDC, for those with mild to moderate Covid-19 are not infectious 10 days after the onset of symptoms, provided you have no fever for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medications and there is improvement in other symptoms.

For those with severe or critical disease, i.e., those hospitalized or on oxygen, that time increases to 20 days as they likely shed more virus over a longer duration of time.

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The answer to this is no. Indeed, you can still have remnants of viral debris that is not infectious post infection, which means you can stay positive on a test beyond the point of being infectious. As long as you follow the days listed above for quarantine or isolation, you do not need a negative test to prove you are not infectious.

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Generally, if a person contracts Covid-19, it can take 2-14 days for symptoms to appear. There are some documented reports of symptoms occurring up to 21 days post exposure. However, the average incubation period is 5-6 days. Close to 98% of people exhibit symptoms by day 12. Symptoms can begin mild, but can gradually worsen at around 7 days after onset of symptoms.

Remember, you can be contagious in this pre-symptomatic phase before symptoms appear.