After a corona infection, those affected want to get out of the quarantine as quickly as possible. But how long are you contagious with the omicron variant?
Hamm – The duration of the quarantine or domestic isolation in the case of a corona infection has been gradually reduced over the past two years. 14 days became 10 days, then the option of free testing came up after a week. Since the Omicron variant, infected people can end 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 a study Exactly this is examined: when are the corona viruses no longer able to reproduce, i.e. when are infected no longer contagious? The team led by Julie Boucau from the Ragon Institute in Cambridge analyzed the corona data of 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: risk of infection lasts for several days
The researchers examined the time from the first positive PCR test to a negative PCR test and how long it takes for the 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 ranged from three to five days)
- Omicron: five days (values ranged from three to nine days)
Some of the Omicron-infected people were contagious for significantly longer than five days. A result that is quite interesting in view of the shortened quarantine period in Germany. If the corona test is negative, the isolation/quarantine can be ended after five days. However, it is quite possible that those affected are still contagious. In case of doubt, antigen tests do not show an infection with a lower viral load. However, a low viral load does not mean that you are not contagious.
In the meantime, corona tests in Germany are no longer free of charge – but there are exceptions. In order to receive the free test, however, those entitled must present proof.
Omicron infection: How long are you contagious from the onset of symptoms?
Also interesting: According to the study results, the contagious period with omicron is extended to eight days on average (values between five and ten days), if the time from the appearance of the first symptoms is also taken into account. For Delta, the median is six days (between four and seven days). Incubation period, symptoms and free testing: All information about the omicron variant BA.5.
The researchers emphasize that they did not observe any major differences in the duration of infection with regard to vaccination status. The test persons were vaccinated, boosted and unvaccinated.
It is also noted that there were only a few study participants, which limits the precision 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 retire positive test.”
