If you’re one of the thousands of Americans who contracted COVID-19, your symptoms might not have been severe enough for hospitalization, so you self-isolated.
You feel you have recovered, but when is it safe for you to stop isolating? Depending on your circumstances, it can be anywhere from 3 days post-recovery to a whole week. Read below to see which situation pertains to you.
With Symptoms, but self-cared at home
May discontinue isolation under the following conditions:
• At least three days have passed since you’ve had a fever without the aid of fever-reducing medications
• Improvement of respiratory symptoms
• At least seven days since symptoms first appeared
With laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, but no symptoms
May discontinue isolation under the following conditions:
• At least seven days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 diagnoses
• Remain asymptomatic
• For three days after discontinuing isolation, continue to limit contact by staying at 6 ft from others and wearing a mask
Access to testing
The CDC recommends you stay in isolation until you have improved respiratory symptoms, no fever with medications, and two negative test results from consecutive nasopharyngeal swabs taken at least 24 hours apart.
Without access to testing
CDC recommendations you stay in isolation until it has been seven days since your symptoms first appeared, and three days since your fever has resolved without medication and improvement of respiratory symptoms.
You should remove yourself from isolation with care and take proper precautions as not to spread the coronavirus. New things are being learned about this virus every day, so do what you can to ensure those around you.
