I was operating on the assumption that without symptoms, if exposed 3 days
If you have symptoms, then it has already manifested, so I would think the test result would be as accurate as any later test. Not sure if waiting matters once you have symptoms, but false negatives do happen
My son-in-law had symptoms (including fever) and tested negative (rapid test). My daughter had no symptoms and tested positive.
This has been my go-to, I was doing 2 days rather than 3 but close enough.
1 test no earlier than a day after a possible exposure, 1 test 2 days later (or 3, from JFGs link), if that’s fine then live your normal pandemic life, until then, quarantine. I don’t have sources for that, just what I’ve been doing.
I assume most people here know this, but it’s worth repeating in case there are some that don’t: the rapid tests have a fairly high false negative rate, which is part of the reason they come in 2-packs to do them twice. False positive rates are low.
This is a separate but related issue to the question snik is asking, which is how long might it take to test positive after initial symptoms.
Felt back to normal today, and tested negative again, so I’m not going to isolate.
Had a headache Tuesday, sore throat yesterday and today, tested negative all three days.
Starting to wonder if the rapid tests work at all / are just giving false security
or, you just have a cold
my allergies aren’t helping either
Throat still sore, still testing negative on rapid test.
I can get a PCR test for travel if I’m asymptomatic.
I’m supposed to go to a wedding tomorrow, and see a few people tonight.
Wish I could trust the rapid test…
I think you probably can at this point. The White House discovered this week that they do work. In this case, 3 days after being a close contact.
I may be exiting the club on Sunday.
The current CDC guidance says test 5+ days after an exposure, fwiw.
News article from the wsj about how long the infection may last and that tests aren’t 100% reliable but they’re the best option we have:
t;ldr:
Some even test positive after 10 days and after symptoms have resolved.
The tests underestimate contagiousness in the beginning of illness and overestimate at the end.
No test can perfectly tell whether someone with Covid-19 is contagious. A more accurate indicator is culturable virus. You need a special lab for that.