You can still be contagious following a week
People who develop symptoms following being infected with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) remain contagious for longer than previously thought. According to a study by researchers at Imperial College London, regarding two-thirds of those who developed symptoms were still infectious following five days. About a quarter of those with symptoms were contagious even following a week.
COVID-19 guidelines from the National Health Service (NHS), the UK’s public health system, state that ‘many people will no longer be contagious following 5 days’. Professor Ajit Ralbani (head of the Department of Infectious Diseases) of the research team said, “According to the results of this study, it is recommended to release the quarantine only following the corona test is negative for two consecutive days following self-isolation.”
The research team analyzed how long the virus was contagious in 57 patients with mild symptoms. The research team received daily symptom reports from subjects through questionnaires and conducted PCR (gene amplification) tests. As a result, regarding two-thirds of the subjects were still contagious 5 days following the onset of symptoms. In addition, regarding a quarter of them continued to excrete the virus 7 days following symptoms appeared and were found to be infectious.
Most symptomatic patients were not contagious until symptoms appeared. The research team said, “The rapid antigen test can be performed from the 6th day following the corona confirmed person is quarantined for 5 days following the onset of symptoms. We have to keep quarantine,” he said.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has urged the government to re-mandatory wearing of masks in public transport and public places this winter to reduce pressure on the NHS from COVID-19, the flu and soaring fuel costs. The results of this study (Onset and window of SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness and temporal correlation with symptom onset: a prospective, longitudinal, community cohort study) were published in the international medical journal ‘The Lancet Respiratory Medicine’.
By Kwon Soon-il, staff reporter [email protected]
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