Question for the medical folks on the board

[chlobo]

My mom (90, vax & booster) has 2 caregivers. One was tested Thursday, result Friday was positive. The other, I think, tested Saturday, result today was positive. The one that tested Saturday had had an exposure a week prior (the previous Friday). My mom's first (Thursday) test was negative.

Is it still recommended to wait 5 days after exposure to test?

How long after caregiver's positive test, assuming they are asymptomatic, would be wise to have them not be caregivers (assuming my mom is negative)? Would you require them to test again before they come back? I know that it's thought you can test positive for a long time. But is that everyone or only some people?

[Liziz]

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that, this must be stressful to you. I'm glad your mom's test came back negative. Yes, it's still recommended to wait 5 (or maybe even more?) days post-exposure.

I would want 10 days post-positive test before they came back as caregivers - assuming they stay asymptomatic the entire time. Some places, like my DH's hospital, are allowing asymptomatic people back 5 days after a positive test, IF they take a rapid test on day 6 and get a negative. But in those cases they're still required to wear an N95 at all times when at work for another 5 days (and then they continue to mask after that of course, it's a hospital -- but they're allowed to go back to a surgical mask). However, if it's at all feasible I'd really want the full 10 days -- especially as these caregivers certainly should have been masking around your mom and it sounds like they weren't - so I wouldn't trust them to correctly mask enough to keep any infection at bay.

I would not require another test after day 10.