how long can you be off with covid?
The COVID-19 infection period varies from person to person. Most people with COVID-19 will have a mild illness and will recover in a few days.
Generally, people with COVID-19 are considered infectious from 48 hours before symptoms start. In high-risk settings, they may be considered infectious from 72 hours before symptoms start.
People with mild illness are generally considered recovered after 7 days if they have been asymptomatic or have not developed any new symptoms during this time. But some people may be infectious for up to 10 days.
Symptoms in children and babies are milder than those in adults, and some infected kids may not show any signs of being unwell.
People who experience more serious illness may take weeks to recover. Symptoms may continue for several weeks after infection. Some people may develop long-term health problems caused by COVID-19.
Sometimes, people can get a positive COVID-19 test result even though they no longer have COVID-19. This is because people with COVID-19 have infected cells in their body that release the virus into the environment through breathing, sneezing or coughing, or through their faeces and urine. This is called ‘viral shedding’.
After recovering from COVID-19, some people can have non-infectious fragments of the virus left in their bodies for some time.
It is possible to get COVID-19 again after your recovery. If you get new COVID-19 symptoms after recovering from COVID-19, you should get tested again, regardless of whether you have had contact with a confirmed case. You should stay at home until you are well. People in the territories must report their results.
If you are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and develop new symptoms after recovering from COVID-19, see your doctor. They may advise you to get tested for COVID-19 test as well as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself against reinfection. It’s also important to keep up measures like hand washing, wearing a mask and physical distancing.
You don't need a medical certificate as evidence that you no longer have COVID-19, and your employer should not ask you to be tested to return to work.
Exercise plays an important role in COVID-19 recovery. If you’re recovering from moderate or severe illness you should speak with your healthcare provider before returning to exercise.
Ongoing symptoms like fatigue may get worse after you exercise. This can be known as “crashing” or “relapse”. This is described in scientific terms as “post-exertional malaise”, or PEM for short.
People with PEM typically feel worse for hours or days after doing something active or mental.
Recovery normally takes 24 hours or longer. PEM can affect your energy levels, concentration, sleep and memory. It can cause muscle and joint pain, and flu-like symptoms.
Introduce exercise into your weekly plans slowly and carefully. Start with 15 minutes of light activity and see how you feel. This can include going for a walk or a bike ride. Pay attention to your heart rate and breathing as you exercise. Over time, you can slowly introduce longer and harder workouts.
If you have any of the following symptoms, stop exercising immediately and contact your healthcare provider:
If you have a confirmed case of COVID-19, you shouldn’t have elective surgery unless postponing the procedure creates a greater risk to your life.
Your procedure should be delayed until you’re no longer infectious and you have recovered from COVID-19.
If you’re having non-urgent surgery (classified as category 2 and 3), it’s recommended that you wait 7 weeks after your first COVID-19 positive test. This applies to people who were asymptomatic (no symptoms) or symptomatic.
If you were scheduled to have either Category 1 and urgent Category 2 surgery, you may only have to wait 4 weeks, if you were asymptomatic or had mild COVID-19 symptoms.
You should speak to your treating doctor about your circumstances.
COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for people who've had COVID-19. If you’ve had a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection, you should delay COVID-19 vaccination for 6 months after recovering.
A longer gap between infection and vaccination is likely to lead to a better immune response and result in longer protection from reinfection.
Serological testing or other testing to detect current or previous infection with COVID-19 before vaccination is neither necessary nor recommended before vaccination.
You may be vaccinated earlier than the recommended 6-month interval if you:
You should not be vaccinated until you’ve recovered from the acute illness. People with a past COVID-19 infection should receive all available doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
People with prolonged symptoms from COVID-19 beyond 3 months should be vaccinated on a case-by-case basis. Speak to your healthcare provider.
A healthcare professional can consult with a specialist immunisation service for additional advice if needed.
Experts believe that the time from exposure to symptom onset, also known as the incubation period, is 2–14 days. However, symptoms typically appear within 4–5 days of exposure.
Different variants of the virus appear to have different incubation periods, with Omicron having a shorter incubation period than the earlier Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants.
One 2021 study included 129 people hospitalized with COVID-19.
The median length of time that participants continued to shed the virus was 8 days after first developing symptoms. At 15.2 days, the odds of continuing to shed the virus were less than 5%.
These results suggest that shedding may occur for longer than 2 weeks in some people with COVID-19. However, the study only included people who were receiving treatment in a hospital for moderate to severe COVID-19.
The 2021 study included immunocompromised people who may shed the virus for longer. It is currently not clear whether the result would be the same for people with mild or asymptomatic disease.
It’s also worth noting that infectiousness itself, both in the sense of how much someone will transmit the virus to others and how long they can do so, is highly variable.
One 2021 review suggests that a person with COVID-19 is most contagious in the first week of illness. Therefore, they may be most contagious shortly before and shortly after symptoms appear.
For this reason, people should ensure that they isolate immediately if they think that they may have come into contact with the virus or if they have developed symptoms.
In people without symptoms, determining contagiousness is difficult, as many people without symptoms may never know that they have COVID-19.
If a person has no symptoms, they are asymptomatic. If a person does not have symptoms but later develops them, they are pre-symptomatic before they experience the symptoms.
A 2020 study found that both asymptomatic people and pre-symptomatic people can and do shed the virus and spread COVID-19.
Researchers looked at 31 people hospitalized for other reasons who tested positive for COVID-19 but did not have any symptoms. Of these participants, 22 eventually developed symptoms, while nine never did.
People with moderate or severe COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 10. Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should isolate through at least day 20.
HELP PROTECT OTHERS
While in home isolation, you should separate yourself and stay away from other people to help prevent spreading COVID-19.
Consult with your doctor or provider regarding the timing of return to work or other activities.
MEDICINES
Your provider may prescribe medicines to help in your recovery, such as antivirals. Be sure to take your medicine as prescribed. Do not miss any doses.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
It's important to get proper nutrition, stay active as much as you can, and take steps to relieve stress and anxiety as you recover at home.
Managing COVID-19 symptoms
While recovering at home, it's important to keep track of your symptoms and stay in touch with your doctor. You may receive instructions on how to check and report your symptoms. Follow your provider's instructions and take medicines as prescribed. If you have severe symptoms, call 911 or the local emergency number.
To help manage symptoms of COVID-19, try the following tips.
Nutrition
COVID-19 symptoms such as loss of taste and smell, nausea, or tiredness can make it hard to want to eat. But eating a healthy diet is important for your recovery. These suggestions may help:
Physical Activity
Even though you don't have a lot of energy, it's important to move your body every day. This will help you regain your strength.
Mental Health
It is common for people who have had COVID-19 to experience a range of emotions, including anxiety, depression, sadness, isolation, and anger. Some people experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) as a result.
Many of the things you do to help with your recovery, such as a healthy diet, regular activity, and enough sleep, will also help you keep a more positive outlook.
You can help reduce stress by practicing relaxation techniques such as:
