PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Many of us are familiar with some of the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control when it comes to testing positive for coronavirus.
However, Dr. Darren Mareiniss, clinical faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Einstein Medical Center, said there is a lesser known guidance from the CDC when it comes to completing that isolation period.
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"There is no protocol for retesting of those individuals," said Dr. Mareiniss.
"Typically they should return to interacting with others if they have been without fever for 24 hours and their symptoms are getting better."
Dr. Mareiniss shared that there is typically enough confidence in the patient's status, after going through their bout with COVID-19, to lead them to believe testing may not be necessary.
"For people who do not have severe disease, we feel fairly confident that they're not going to be infectious after that point," he said.
"That's why there is no need for re-testing."
He adds there might be a window for retesting for people who have severe disease or are immunosuppressed.
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"That decision should be made by CDC guidance, in conjunction with the patient and infectious disease doctor to determine if retesting would be reasonable."
Additionally, some people persistently test positive because the PCR can pick up non-infectious remnant material, so further testing can be misleading and unhelpful.
Click here for CDC guidance on ending home isolation after a positive COVID-19 test.
