After a corona infection, those affected want to get out of quarantine as quickly as possible. How long are you contagious with the omicron variant?
Hamm – The length of isolation or quarantine for corona infection has been gradually shortened over the past two years. 14 days became 10 days, so after a week the free test option emerged. Starting with the Omicron variant, infected people can finish their isolation after five days if the rapid corona test is negative. Compared to laboratory tests, however, antigen tests do not detect an infection very reliably, especially when the viral load is low. So it’s good if infected people know roughly how long they are contagious with the omicron variant.
Researchers have in one study Exactly this is examined: when coronavirus are no longer able to reproduce, that is, when are they infected no longer contagious? The team led by Julie Boucau of the Ragon Institute in Cambridge analyzed corona data from 66 people who were infected with the corona virus between July 2021 and January 2022. During this period, 32 subjects were infected with the delta variant, 34 with omicron. Only one infected had no symptoms.
Corona infection with omicron: the risk of infection lasts for several days
The researchers looked at the time from the first positive PCR test to a negative PCR test and the time it took for coronaviruses to stop multiplying after the positive PCR test. The latter is the important period for the question of how long an infected person is contagious. These were the results:
- Delta: four days (values between three and five days)
- Omicron: five days (values between three and nine days)
Some of the people infected with Omicron were contagious for significantly longer than five days. Quite an interesting result given the shortened quarantine period in Germany. If the corona test is negative, the isolation / quarantine can be terminated after five days. However, it is entirely possible that those affected are still contagious. When in doubt, antigen tests do not show an infection with a lower viral load. However, a low viral load doesn’t mean you’re not contagious.
Meanwhile, the crown tests in Germany are no longer free, but there are exceptions. To receive the free trial, however, those eligible must submit proof.
Omicron infection: how long are you contagious from onset of symptoms?
Also interesting: According to the results of the study, the period of contagion with omicron extends on average to eight days (values between five and ten days), if we also take into account the time from the appearance of the first symptoms. For Delta, the median is six days (between four and seven days). Free incubation period, symptoms and tests: all information on the omcron BA.5 variant.
The researchers point out that they did not observe substantial differences in the duration of infection with regards to vaccination status. The test people were vaccinated, boosted and unvaccinated.
Also note that there were only a few study participants, which limits the accuracy of the study. Despite this, the researchers conclude: “Our data suggest that some individuals infected with the omicron and delta SARS-CoV-2 variants develop culturable virus more than 5 days after symptom onset or an initial retirement positive test.”
