Amid the spread of the highly contagious pandemic disease of coronavirus COVID-19, some individuals are put in a 14-day quarantine period. Coronavirus patients start to show symptoms after 5 days, which makes the 14-day quarantine period a reasonable amount of time according to public health scientists.
80% of infected people recover from the virus without the need for special treatments. In a rarer manner, the virus can be serious to a fatal extent in some cases. These cases include old people and individuals with other medical conditions such as heart diseases, diabetes, or asthma as they become more vulnerable to getting severely sick.
Why the 14-day quarantine period?
According to research, which was based and conducted on 181 confirmed cases, the average incubation period for the COVID-19 virus is five days. An incubation period in medicine is the time from the moment of exposure to an infectious agent (the COVID-19 virus) until signs and symptoms of the disease appear. The research concluded that the median incubation period was estimated to be 5.1 days and that a percentage of 97% of infected people who develop symptoms, will develop these symptoms within a period of 11.5 days. Some people though can be sick with the virus for 1-14 days before developing symptoms. Under conservative assumptions, the estimates imply that 101 out of every 10,000 cases will develop symptoms after 14 days of active monitoring or quarantine.
Are 14 days of quarantine enough?
The 14-day quarantine period was established by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and it is considered an appropriate amount of time and is claimed to cover 99% of all infectious cases of the COVID-19 virus. It is predicted an extremely low probability to miss any symptomatic cases after a period of 14 days, even among those who are considered high-risk individuals.
When to go on a 14-day quarantine period?
Due to the wide spreadness of the novel COVID-19 worldwide and because of its ongoing transmission, people who traveled internationally are recommended to stay home, isolate themselves, and monitor their health for 14 days. They should avoid contact with others in case they carry the virus and have no symptoms. Some countries go on a 14-day national quarantine as well; as a way to contain the spread of the virus.
If you have been in contact with someone who was infected with the COVID-19 virus, then call the closest medical service provider and ask them what to do; they may suggest a 14-day quarantine period to figure out whether you have the symptoms or not.
What are the COVID-19 symptoms?
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. People of severe cases can also experience difficulty breathing.
Can you spread the virus when you’re not showing symptoms (asymptomatic)?
The virus is thought to transmit primarily from a person to a person. And basically COVID-19 transfers through 2 of the following ways:
- Between individuals who are in near contact with each other (within around 6 feet);
- and by respiratory droplets when an infectious person coughs or sneezes; such droplets may land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or may be inhaled into the lungs.
As for now, people are believed to be most contagious when they’re sick and showing symptoms; symptomatic. It is possible that the spread can happen before people show symptoms as there have been few reports, but it is not the main way the virus spreads. The chance of getting COVID-19 from someone with no signs is very low.
