When Is It Safe To Be With Others Who Have Had COVID-19?

When you can be around others (end home isolation) depends on different factors for different situations.

By Total Access Medical · July 28, 2020

Like other infectious diseases, recovery time can vary from person to person, but experts recommend people follow the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC says a safe time for a person who has recovered from COVID-19 to be around others depends on a number of factors.

Those who’ve had COVID-19 and had symptoms can be around other people at least 10 days since onset of symptoms if they’ve had at least 24 hours without a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications. They should also wait until their symptoms have improved.

For those who tested positive but had no symptoms, they can be around other people 10 days after the positive test.

For people who are immunocompromised, they should talk to their doctor about whether they need to stay isolated for more than 10 days. Those in this category can be with others after receiving two consecutive negative test results at least 24 hours apart.

For anyone who has been around someone with COVID-19, they should stay home for 14 days after exposure based on the time it takes to develop illness.