In most of the world, the cases of COVID-19 infections have increased, especially following the arrival of omicron, the new variant of the virus.
The spread of omicron it was rapid and, so far, it appears that the symptoms are less severe than other variants.
According BBC, now with the anticovid vaccines, people who become infected have less chance of being hospitalized or at risk of death.
Thus, several countries review their regulations on the required isolation period.
How long does it take for an exposed person to have symptoms?
Many studies on the variant are still missing omicron, but this would have a shorter incubation period than other strains.
Incubation is the time that passes from exposure to the virus until symptoms appear. With the previous variants, the symptoms appeared between five or six days following infection.
With the delta variant, symptoms started four days later, but with the omicron the period is two to three days.
“It seems that replication is very fast”Dr. Vicente Soriano, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases and clinical genetics, told the BBC.
A preliminary study on six cases of omicron in U.S, found that the incubation time was three days.
How long does a person stop being contagious?
It is known that people tend to be more contagious early in the infection. With omicron, it is believed that the virus can be transmitted a day or two before symptoms appear.
“We believe that the virus is only contagious for five days. In other words, the ability to infect others, to transmit this virus lasts regarding three to five days following the test is positive, which is day two of infection ”, the expert commented.
With omicron, the time that virus remains in the body can be only one week. About seven days following symptoms appear, most people are no longer contagious, as long as they no longer have symptoms.
“But this is medicine, not mathematics, so you have to give a little margin. Maybe there are people who last a little less, regarding three or four days, and others regarding seven days. The truth is that with omicron the infection is much faster than with previous variants “added.
So people would no longer be able to spread if they do not have symptoms. That is why several countries reduced the time that people must isolate themselves.
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