Understanding the right time to get a COVID-19 test requires knowing how the virus works.
Day 1 – Exposure: The first day someone is exposed to the coronavirus, they have very little virus in their system. They do not feel sick and are not very contagious.
Days 2 – 5 Presymptomatic: Over the next several days, the viruses begin to replicate and spread. While a person likely won’t feel sick yet, they are very contagious and can infect others. This is called presymptomatic spread.
Days 6 – 14 Symptomatic (or not): In the first week after exposure, as the virus replicates, an infected person is the most contagious. Their immune system is also in high gear fighting the virus, leading to feeling sick—though 4 out of 10 people with COVID do not have any symptoms at all.
Days 10 to 14 are when the illness can be most serious, though the actual amount of virus in one’s system drops off and they become less contagious
Knowing this pattern, the ideal time to get a test is on Day 5 or 6 after possible exposure to COVID-19. While waiting to Day 7 or 8 is fine, being tested earlier than Day 5 is not recommended as there MAY NOT be enough virus for the test to work, resulting in a false negative.