A REMINDER: How Soon After COVID-19 Exposure Should You Get Tested?

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Fri, 2020-10-02 17:58 — mike kraft

How Soon After COVID-19 Exposure Should You Get Tested? Here's how long it may take to get an accurate coronavirus test result, plus some other important advice you need to know. Lindsay Holmes HuffPost

So you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19. How long will it take for you to know if you’re infected?

The coronavirus affects everyone differently, including the amount of time it takes to start experiencing symptoms or get confirmation that you have the virus. That said, here’s a general timeline you can expect and what else you should know: ...

There’s an incubation period for COVID-19. If you test too soon after exposure, it can result in a false negative. In one study on false negative rates after COVID-19 exposure, researchers found that in the four days prior to symptom onset, the probability of a false negative was extremely high on day one. The probability of a false negative on day four was around 67%.

This is why experts don’t recommend getting tested the day after being in a potential exposure situation. As MIT Medical explains on their COVID-19 page:

There are no firm numbers on how long it takes to get an accurate positive test result. The time from exposure to the onset of symptoms is around two to 14 days, according to Harvard Health. Most people’s symptoms appear around day five, on average.

It’s recommended that you wait to get tested for at least two to three days after potential exposure. Some health experts say five days after exposure might be a good testing point, since that’s the median time when symptoms usually appear. ....

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