Counting days before/after traveling for COVID purposes
How do I count the days to figure out when I should take a COVID test, as it relates to travel? I left the airport around noon on Monday, which was my last contact with the public. I don't have any symptoms or specific known exposure, except that I was traveling.
The recommendation in my area is to take a COVID test 3-5 days after travel and self-quarantine for 7 days after travel or until a negative test. Obviously I can always safely err on the side of a longer quarantine, but how should I count days to get the most accurate test results? How about the fastest reasonably accurate results?
(Lest anyone fret, this was not a pleasure trip. It involved a house that could have been on Hoarders and I'm the next-of-kin.)
Best Answer
Nothing related to a disease is an exact process where you will always test positive exactly some amount of hours after transmission. In the case where a test is a mandatory requirement, the requirements vary by country, and hopefully the local authorities will have precise instructions in such circumstances, but it's impossible to give a global view of the subject.
In the case where the test is a recommendation rather than a requirement, I'd go with the plain meaning of "after": if you arrive on a Monday, one day after is a Tuesday, so three days after is a Thursday and five days is a Saturday. Getting the test between Thursday and Saturday, then, seems to comply with the suggestion you describe in your post.
Pictures about "Counting days before/after traveling for COVID purposes"
HOW TO TRAVEL AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID
More answers regarding counting days before/after traveling for COVID purposes
Answer 2
You should consult the medical authorities and guidelines issued by the local government but generally, it can take up to 10 days for coronavirus symptoms to appear. Here is an excerpt from guidelines shared by UK government for inbound travelers.
The quarantine period starts the day you arrive in England and ends 10 days after the day you arrived. This period is necessary because it can take up to 10 days for coronavirus symptoms to appear.
Reference - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Artem Beliaikin, Anna Shvets, Karolina Grabowska, RODNAE Productions