How long does it take to get results for COVID-19 antigen tests?
Is there a diagnostic test for COVID-19?
Do rapid COVID-19 tests detect the COVID-19 variant Omicron?
How long should I wait to get tested for COVID-19 after being exposed if I am fully vaccinated?
What can I expect from a COVID-19 diagnostic test?
What is the CDC’s first diagnostic test for COVID-19?
What should I do if I have been exposed to someone with COVID-19?
Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure to that person, except if they meet the following conditions:
Someone who has been fully vaccinated and shows no symptoms of COVID-19 does not need to quarantine. However, fully vaccinated close contacts should:
Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until a negative test result.
Get tested 5-7 days after close contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Get tested and isolate immediately if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
What steps should you take after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19?
- Stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
- Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
- If possible, stay away from others, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.
What should I do if I’ve been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and I have fully recovered from a COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days?
Someone who tested positive for COVID-19 with a viral test within the previous 90 days and has subsequently recovered and remains without COVID-19 symptoms does not need to quarantine. However, close contacts with prior COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days should:
• Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days after exposure.
• Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate immediately if symptoms develop.
• Consult with a healthcare professional for testing recommendations if new symptoms develop.
Should I quarantine if I had been in contact with someone with COVID-19?
How long does it take to show symptoms after you have been exposed to COVID-19?
Am I considered a close contact for COVID-19 if I was wearing a mask?
A person is still considered a close contact even if they were wearing a mask while they were around someone with COVID-19. You can call, text, or email your contacts. By letting your close contacts know they may have been exposed to COVID-19, you are helping to protect everyone.
How long do you need to stay home after coming into close contact with someone who has COVID-19?
When should I isolate for COVID-19?
You isolate when you have symptoms of COVID-19 or are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, even if you don’t have symptoms. Public health recommendations for testing and quarantine of close contacts with ongoing exposure depend on vaccination status.
Who do masks protect from COVID-19: the wearer, others, or both?
We’ve known for some time that masks help prevent people from spreading the coronavirus to others. Based on an analysis of existing information, a new study contends that masks may also protect mask wearers from becoming infected themselves.
Different masks, writes the study author, block viral particles to varying degrees. If masks lead to lower “doses” of virus being inhaled, then fewer people may become infected, and those who do may have milder illness.
Researchers in China experimented with hamsters to test the effect of masks. They put healthy hamsters and hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 coronavirus) in a cage, and separated some of the healthy and infected hamsters with a barrier made of surgical masks. Many of the “masked” healthy hamsters did not get infected, and those who did got less sick than previously healthy “maskless” hamsters.
How does a surgical mask help to prevent contracting COVID-19?
Can I be infected with COVID-19 if I am more than 6 feet away?
CDC continues to believe, based on current science, that people are more likely to become infected the longer and closer they are to a person with COVID-19.
Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area.
In these instances, transmission occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise. Such environments and activities may contribute to the buildup of virus-carrying particles.