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How Long After

Exposure to COVID-
19 Should You Get
Tested?
Medically reviewed by Meredith
Goodwin, MD, FAAFP — Written
by Kirsten Nunez on March 11,
2022

What to do Symptoms
Types of tests Positive test
Negative test Contagiousness
Bottom line

If you’ve been exposed to someone

with COVID-19, it’s important to get
tested soon after you had contact
with them. It’s the only way to know
for sure if you’ve contracted the virus.

If you don’t get tested, you can

transmit the virus to other people
without knowing it. That’s because
the coronavirus can be passed on
before you notice any symptoms. In
other cases, you might not develop
symptoms at all.
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What should you do if

you’ve been exposed to
COVID-19?
If you have been exposed to
someone who has COVID-19, the
precautions you need to take will
depend on whether you’re up to date
on your COVID-19 vaccinations.

Being up to date means you’ve had

all the recommended COVID-19
vaccines and a booster shot.

If you’re not up to
date on your COVID-
19 vaccines
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) ! , if you’ve
been exposed to COVID-19
and you’re not up to date on
your COVID-19 vaccinations,
you’ll need to:

Quarantine at home for

5 days. Don’t go to
work or school. Wear a
well fitted mask if you
need to be around
other people in your
home.
Get tested. Even if you
don’t have any
symptoms, make sure
you get tested 5 days
after you were exposed.
“Day 1” starts the day
after the exposure.
Watch for symptoms.
Even if you test
negative, pay attention
to the development of
any symptoms for the
next 10 days. If you
develop any symptoms,
isolate yourself right
away, and test yourself
again.
Avoid travel and high
risk individuals for 10
days. To be safe, avoid
traveling until 10 days
after you were exposed
to COVID-19. Also avoid
being around people
who are at high risk, like
older adults and
immunocompromised
people.

If you are up to date

on your COVID-19
vaccines
According to the CDC, if
you’ve been exposed to
COVID-19 and you’re up to
date on your COVID-19
vaccinations, you’ll need to:

Get tested. You don’t

need to quarantine, but
make sure you test
yourself at least 5 days
after you were exposed.
Watch for symptoms.
Even if you test
negative, pay attention
to the development of
any symptoms for the
next 10 days. If you
develop symptoms,
isolate yourself right
away, and get tested
again.
Avoid high risk
individuals for 10 days.
Try to stay away from
people who are at high
risk for at least 10 days.
Take precautions if you
need to travel. Wear a
mask at all times and
keep your distance from
others as much as
possible.

It’s also important to get tested if

you’ve:

attended a crowded event, like

a concert

traveled

developed COVID-19 symptoms

It’s crucial to note that the

coronavirus may not cause symptoms
in some people. You should still get
tested 5 days after an exposure,
even if you have no symptoms.

COVID-19 symptoms
The most common symptoms of
COVID-19 include:

fever

fatigue

dry cough

Less commonly, COVID-19 might also

cause:

loss of smell or taste

headache

sore throat

diarrhea

joint or muscle pain

dizziness

nasal congestion

nausea or vomiting

chills

More severe symptoms may include:

loss of appetite

shortness of breath

confusion

pain or pressure in the chest

The best way to avoid severe COVID-

19 symptoms and complications is to
get vaccinated.

What type of test should

you use?
After an exposure, experts
recommend that you take an at-home
test.

An at-home test is a type of rapid

antigen test, also called a rapid
diagnostic test. It checks nasal swab
samples for proteins in the
coronavirus.

Before using an at-home test, it’s

helpful to blow your nose. Having too
much mucus in your nose can dilute
the sample and increase the risk of a
false negative result.

You can perform this test anywhere,

so it’s very convenient. It also
provides results in about 15 minutes.

A rapid at-home test is also known as

a:

over-the-counter test

self-test

home test

You can find at-home tests at:

pharmacies

local health departments

community organizations, like

libraries

COVIDtests.gov

In general, at-home tests are less

accurate than other COVID-19 tests.
The accuracy also differs depending
on whether you test positive or
negative.

An at-home test is most accurate

when you have an active infection.
So, positive results from a home test
are highly accurate. But if your results
are negative, it doesn’t necessarily
mean you don’t have COVID-19.

Other types of COVID-19 tests you

can take include:

Rapid lab testing. A rapid test

can also be done at a testing
site, where a lab technician
checks your samples. This type
of test typically provides results
within several minutes or hours.

PCR test. A polymerase chain

reaction (PCR) test is more
accurate than a rapid test. It
checks for the genetic material
of the virus.
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What should you do if

you test positive?
Even if you have no symptoms, it’s
important to take the following steps
if you test positive for COVID-19:

Notify people you have recently

interacted with or been around.

Isolate and stay home for at

least 5 days after you test
positive.

Wear a mask if you need to be

around other people in your
home.

Use a separate bathroom from

other people in your home, if
possible.

Sleep in a room separate from

other people.

Get another rapid test at the

end of your 5-day isolation
period.

You can end your isolation after 5

days if:

you test negative

you haven’t had a fever for 24

hours and haven’t used
medication to lower your fever
AND

your other symptoms have also

improved

If, after 5 days, you still have

symptoms or test positive, you’ll need
to continue isolation until day 10.

It’s recommended to follow these

guidelines even if you have no
symptoms. That’s because COVID-19
can be transmitted by people who
have no COVID-19 symptoms.

What should you do if

you test negative?
A negative test means that levels of
the virus aren’t high enough to be
detected at this point in time. It
doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t
have the virus.

To be safe and confident that you

haven’t contracted the virus, here’s
what to do:

Regardless of your vaccination

status, wear a mask around
other people, even at home.

Wear a mask until you can test

yourself again.

Test yourself again 1 or 2 days

after your negative test.

If you test negative again, you can

end your quarantine. This only
applies to people who aren’t up to
date on their vaccinations. You don’t
need to quarantine after potential
COVID-19 exposure if you’re fully
vaccinated and boosted.

Testing negative multiple times is the

best way to confirm that you do not
have COVID-19.

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How long will you be

contagious if you have
COVID-19?
COVID-19 symptoms can vary widely
from one person to the next. Some
people may have very mild
symptoms or no symptoms at all.

In general, COVID-19 symptoms start

1 to 14 days after exposure. The
average time frame is around 5 days.

If you do have COVID-19, the virus is

most likely to be transmitted 1 to 2
days before your symptoms start, or
2 to 3 days after your symptoms
begin.

The coronavirus can still spread up to

10 days after you contract it.

If you have a moderately or severely

compromised immune system, the
virus may be able to spread for up to
20 days.

The bottom line

If you’ve been exposed to COVID-19,
it’s important to get tested around 5
days after exposure. This is
recommended even if you do not
have symptoms.

You can take a rapid at-home test. If

it’s positive, let your close contacts
know and isolate for 5 days after
taking the test.

If the test is negative, you’ll want to

confirm the negative results.
Regardless of your vaccination
status, test yourself again 1 or 2 days
later. Wear a mask around other
people until you know for sure that
you haven’t contracted the
coronavirus.

It’s also a good idea to test yourself if

you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Similarly, if you’ve traveled or
attended a crowded event, consider
getting tested, even if you don’t have
symptoms.

Last medically reviewed on March 11, 2022

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