Staying at home while afflicted will assist to prevent the virus from spreading. However, with changing guidelines, determining what to do following a positive test can be difficult as reported by 9News.
Isolation restrictions
The number of persons in Colorado who have tested positive for COVID has never been higher. In the state, about 30% of people are optimistic.
While the vast majority of people will recover normally, staying at home while infected will help prevent the virus from spreading. However, with changing quarantine and isolation restrictions as well as evolving recommendations, determining what to do following a positive test can be difficult.
In Colorado, over 11,000 people each day have taken a test that has come back positive this week. As a result, many people are confined to their homes because of COVID. That also means you’re not alone if you’re unsure what to do next following a positive test.
Frequent questions
Dr Comilla Sasson treats COVID patients every day as an emergency physician. She’ll help walk us through how long people have to isolate after testing positive. The CDC says five days, with some caveats.
9NEWS: How do you know when your isolation period begins?
Sasson: If you have symptoms, your day zero starts from the day that you have symptoms. Let’s say you have symptoms on Monday and you tested positive on Tuesday. Your day zero is Monday when your symptoms started.
What if you’re asymptomatic? How do you know when you got infected?
Sasson: If you are asymptomatic, didn’t even have any symptoms at all, and you tested positive, then your day zero is the day you took your test.
The CDC says you can test after five days of isolation. What happens next?
Sasson: If you test positive on day six, let’s say with that rapid test, that means that viral load is high enough that you probably still need to be in isolation and you should probably continue to finish those 10 days of isolation. The bottom line is everybody does five days, and the next five days are really dependent on whether or not you’re having symptoms. If you are, then continue isolation. If you’re not, then you can test and see if you’re still shedding the virus.
What should you do if you’re feeling fine and test negative after day five?
Sasson: Let’s say you’re asymptomatic. Day six, you go back into the world wearing a mask, but you try to avoid big gatherings, bars, restaurants, gyms, clubs.
What do you do if a family member or friend with whom you’ve had close contact tests positive?
Sasson: You should go into modified quarantine, is what I call it. You have to be careful and wear a mask, look for symptoms, test at day five if you want to. Basically, you have to spend 10 days being extra careful. If you are not fully vaccinated, you should quarantine in your home for five days and then test to see whether or not you can get out.
Other than wearing a mask and staying apart, is it safe to be in the same house as someone who has tested positive and is in isolation?
Sasson: Ventilation is really important. I think of COVID as being kind of like smoke. It lives in the air, both in droplets and aerosols. You can open the windows for the person who is isolating. For the rest of the house, you can open the windows to make sure the ventilation is also really good.
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Source: 9News
