Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPositive for COVID-19?Do I Need to Retest?Positive PCR Test?Positive Antibody Test?Retest After Re-Exposure?Mandatory COVID Testing?Signs of Long COVIDNext in At-Home COVID Test GuideHow Accurate Are At-Home COVID-19 Tests?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Positive for COVID-19?
Do I Need to Retest?
Positive PCR Test?
Positive Antibody Test?
Retest After Re-Exposure?
Mandatory COVID Testing?
Signs of Long COVID
Next in At-Home COVID Test Guide
If you test positive forCOVID-19, you don’t need to retest if your symptoms have cleared or are improving. However, you should take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when you’re sick. This may include staying away from others if you have a fever and/or taking additional precautions, such as wearing a well-fittingface maskand washing your hands often.
This article explains when to retest after a positive COVID test and explores special situations where retesting may be valuable.
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Which Test Should I Use for COVID-19?
What to Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19
If you test positive for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you:
According to the CDC, to reduce the chances of spreading COVID-19, you should:
Is It Possible to be Infected With Two Different COVID-19 Variants at the Same Time?It’s not common, but there have been case reports of people who have been diagnosed with two COVID variants at the same time.
Is It Possible to be Infected With Two Different COVID-19 Variants at the Same Time?
It’s not common, but there have been case reports of people who have been diagnosed with two COVID variants at the same time.
Do I Need to Retest After Getting COVID-19?
If you follow the CDC’s guidance on preventing respiratory viruses when you’re sick, there is generally no need to retest yourself for COVID-19.
What If a PCR Test Is Positive?
There are different tests used to detect COVID-19.
Antigen tests, available over the counter, detect proteins on the surface of the virus itself. Another test calledpolymerase chain reaction (PCR), performed in a lab, detects the genetic material of the virus and is often used to confirm a positive antigen test result.
Antigen tests are far less sensitive than PCRs. With a PCR, you can continue to test positive for weeks or even months after an antigen test delivers a negative result.
So if you are re-testing to see if your infection has passed, a positive PCR doesnotmean that you are contagious. Although minute amounts of the virus may be detected, they may not be at levels capable of infecting others.
How Long Can I Test Positive for COVID-19?
What If an Antibody Test Is Positive?
According to the CDC:
COVID antibody tests have other limitations. Among them, it can take one to three weeks before there are enough antibodies for the test to detect. By that time, many other people could have been infected.
Today, antibody tests are used for population-based research. They are also sometimes used to aid in the diagnosis ofmultisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS), a rare but severe complication of COVID-19 in adults and children.
Can You Test Positive for COVID If You’re Vaccinated?
Should I Retest If Re-Exposed to COVID?
If you tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days and have been re-exposed to the virus, you may or may not need to be retested. It depends on how long ago you tested positive and whether or not you have symptoms.
According to the CDC,you should be retestedif:
Antigen testing is recommended. If the result is negative, repeat testing should be done.
You should NOT be retestedif you tested positive for COVID within 30 days and do not have COVID symptoms.
Window Period for Antigen TestingThe window period for a COVID antigen test is five days. This means that it takes that amount of time for the virus level to be high enough that a test can detect it. Testing before then may lead to afalse-negative result.
Window Period for Antigen Testing
The window period for a COVID antigen test is five days. This means that it takes that amount of time for the virus level to be high enough that a test can detect it. Testing before then may lead to afalse-negative result.
COVID Rebound Can Happen Without Paxlovid
Can My Employer Require COVID Retesting?
Several workplaces have implemented COVID-19 screening to prevent the spread of the virus. However, the CDC advises against policies that require employees to have a negative COVID result before they can return to work.
Instead, the CDC recommends the same isolation and masking policies it has in place for the general population.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers who put mandatory COVID-19 testing in place must ensure that the testing is job-related and consistent with a business necessity. The purpose should be to identify current infections.
Is Your Company’s COVID Vaccine Mandate Illegal?
Do I Need to Retest a Positive COVID Test for Travel?You’ll need to check the testing requirements for your destination. You may need to show a negative COVID-19 test to enter a country or come back to the country you traveled from.If you test positive for COVID-19 while you are traveling, you will need to follow the guidelines for isolation, testing, and treatment where you are.
Do I Need to Retest a Positive COVID Test for Travel?
You’ll need to check the testing requirements for your destination. You may need to show a negative COVID-19 test to enter a country or come back to the country you traveled from.If you test positive for COVID-19 while you are traveling, you will need to follow the guidelines for isolation, testing, and treatment where you are.
Does a Continued Positive Result Mean I Have Long COVID?
Long COVID, also known as post-COVID syndrome, is a chronic condition in which people continue to have symptoms three months after the onset of the initial symptoms or apositive COVID test result.
Symptoms of long COVID may include:
Long COVID is diagnosed based on clinical signs and symptoms. There are no tests used to diagnose the syndrome, and repeat testing has no value in determining whether or not you have long COVID.
Who Is at Risk of Long COVID?
Summary
The CDC does not recommend repeat COVID-19 testing for those who have followed guidance on preventing the spread of the virus and whose symptoms are improving or cleared.
The CDC also does not recommend repeat testing for returning to work. Instead, workplaces should adhere to the same isolation/masking recommendations for the general population.
The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.
Should You Get COVID Travel Insurance?
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Testing for COVID-19.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Preventing spread of respiratory viruses when you’re sick.
Samoilov, Kaptelova, Bukharina, Shipulina, Korneenko, Saenko, Lukyanov, Grishaeva, Ploskireva, Speranskaya, & Akimkin. (2021).Case report: change of dominant strain during dual SARS-CoV-2 infection.BMC Infectious Diseases,21(1), 1–8. doi:10.1186/s12879-021-06664-w
University of Chicago Medicine.COVID-19 testing: When to test, how accurate are home tests and more.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Interim guidance for SARS-CoV-2 testing in non-healthcare workplaces.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.What you should know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO laws.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Travelers' health: COVID-19.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Long COVID basics.
Yomogida K, Zhu S, Rubino F, Figueroa W, Balanji N, Holman E.Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adults aged ≥18 years - Long Beach, California, April 1-December 10, 2020.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(37):1274-1277. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7037a2
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