Some COVID patients can infect after ten days, according to study

Some people with COVID were able to spread the virus to others after a 10-day quarantine, at least in the early days of the pandemic, a new UK study shows.

This according to research from the University of Exeter, which used an adapted test that can detect whether the virus remains active in those with previously confirmed infections.

He determined that 13% of the 176 people studied had levels high enough to be potentially infectious even after 10 days.

This evidence comes as many countries, including England, are reducing isolation times for those who test positive to as little as five days to help alleviate workplace staffing shortages that have been fueled by the spread of the omicron variant. .

“This current study reinforces concerns that reducing the quarantine period to five days will increase the risk of highly infectious people spreading infection when they return to work or school.“, He said Lawrence Young, virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick.

The study used samples from 2020, when the original variant of the virus was still dominant, so it is unclear how relevant the results are amid the spread of delta and omicron variants, given the different infectious and incubation periods.

The risk someone poses to others depends on factors including the viral load being shed, the patient’s symptoms and immunity levels in potential contacts, he said. Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.