Close Contact through proximity and duration of exposure: Someone who was less than 6 feet away from an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinical diagnosis) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes).
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
It's more likely if you're physically close to someone who is both infected and in the first 5 days of symptoms. Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are at especially high risk when they deal with people hospitalized for COVID-19.
Initial presentation — Among patients with symptomatic COVID-19, cough, myalgias, and headache are the most commonly reported symptoms. Other features, including diarrhea, sore throat, and smell or taste abnormalities, are also well described (table 3).
An infection's incubation period is the length of time between when you first become infected and when you begin to experience symptoms. For COVID-19, that timeline stretches anywhere from the first day after your exposure through 5 days after experiencing no symptoms.
So, there is potential for people to be infectious beyond their seven-day isolation if they are still symptomatic. After ten days, most people are not infectious. Multiple studies have shown there is very little, if any, transmission after day ten, regardless of the variant.
Experts believe the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person.
When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, droplets or tiny particles called aerosols carry the virus into the air from their nose or mouth. Anyone who is within 6 feet of that person can breathe it into their lungs.
Get tested at least 5 days after your last close contact. Make sure your test result is negative and you remain without symptoms before traveling. If you don't get tested, avoid travel until a full 10 days after your last close contact with a person with COVID-19.
If you have milder symptoms like a fever, shortness of breath, or coughing: Stay home unless you need medical care. If you do need to go in, call your doctor or hospital first for guidance. Tell your doctor about your illness.
All of the variants, including delta and omicron, cause similar COVID-19 symptoms, including cough, fever and fatigue. There is some evidence that fewer people with omicron lose their taste and smell.
According to the CDC, reported COVID-19 illnesses have ranged from mild (with no reported symptoms in some cases) to severe to the point of requiring hospitalization, intensive care, and/or a ventilator. In some cases, COVID-19 illnesses can lead to death.