When should you get tested for Covid-19? El Paso infectious disease expert has the answer
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Testing negative for Covid-19 too soon after exposure to someone infected might not mean you’re virus-free, according to a local infectious disease expert.
Dr. Armando Meza, Chief of Infectious Diseases with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, said timing your test can be key.
He said you could test negative for the virus early on and ultimately become infected days later. Dr. Meza said on average that an individual without symptoms will have the highest yield of the virus five to seven days after exposure. An individual with symptoms might be most likely to test positive three days after those symptoms begin.
Still, before you get tested, quarantining is still essential. Dr. Meza says you should quarantine after testing negative, even if you were tested several days after exposure.
“I think you should be quarantining more than that because those numbers that I’m providing you are pretty much the average exposure time for positivity, but you should expect to be positive,” he said.
If you want to get tested right away, you should also consider going to get an additional test a few days days later.
“'I'm not saying you should not get tested earlier, all I'm saying is that this is the highest yield of becomming positive during that time period and that means you will have to be tested more than once, especially if you are not having any symptoms,” Dr. Meza said. “The precautions you are going to take are still going to apply even if you are testing negative at the beginning of your exposure."
Those precautions are essential. County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza said he believes part of the reason for the recent spike in cases is that some individuals are not following isolation protocols and some are not going to get tested when they should.
