A new study has found that recovered patients who tested positive for coronavirus might take more than a month to clear the virus.
The US CDC has advised, “Unless your illness required hospitalization, you can return to normal activities (e.g., work or school) after the passage of 10 days from the onset of symptoms and 24 hours from when any fever has subsided on its own (without the aid of any fever-reducing medications).”
However, in a research published in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday (September 1), Dr. Francesco Venturelli of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and his team say patients who have tested positive for coronavirus may actually take more than 30 days to be truly cleared of the virus.
The researchers conducted a series of retests with a polymerace chain reaction (PCR) test on over a thousand patients in the Reggio Emilia Province of Italy – all of whom have tested positive for coronavirus.
The patients were retested around 15 days after their first test, 14 days after their second and 9 days after their third – the researchers deemed a patient is cleared of the virus after testing negative on two consecutive retests.
They say it’s taken patients an average of 34 days after patients first noticed symptoms to clear the virus; slightly longer – about 38 days – for those above 50 and those who have been hospitalized.
They say this could mean that one in five results could be a false negative, with many still shedding the virus after testing negative and unknowingly passing it on to others.
According to Dr. Venturelli and his team, this could be helpful in determining testing strategies – postponing the follow-up testing of those who are no longer experiencing illness or symptoms could increase the efficiency and performance of testing strategies. It would also help to ensure people don’t have to spend unnecessary time in isolation.
The US now has over 6 Million confirmed coronavirus cases – there are almost 26 Million recorded cases worldwide.
More studies are being conducted on the virus as the race to find a cure and a vaccine continues. The World Health Organization is tracking nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 – six of which are in crucial phase three trials.
