The coronavirus continues to spread among the population, and although the World Health Organization ended the epidemic months ago, there has been a significant increase in cases in primary health care centers in recent weeks. For this reason, it’s not surprising that people have questions about what the symptoms are and how long they last.
As for symptoms, those caused by the variant circulating in 2023 are similar to those that preceded them, although, as the family doctor explained, “the clinics have been generally mediocre”. They said patients who came in for consultation reported “fever or low-grade fever, nasal congestion, coughing, sneezing, muscle aches… this is a common cold”.
Of course, even though these symptoms are not serious, more and more people are using masks again to avoid infecting third parties or preventing infection, and there is a high demand for antigen tests in pharmacies given the rebound in COVID-19 cases.
These new subvariants are characterized by greater transmissibility: they are EG.5 (better known as eris) and BA.2.86 (known as pirola), the most widely distributed. In fact, the Pirolla is one of the species most closely monitored by the World Health Organization because it is the one that has suffered the most mutations, with as many as 42 amino acid changes in the spike protein.
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When it comes to transmission, these new coronavirus variants spread like other viruses: through droplets produced when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes.
How long will the new coronavirus epidemic last?
The symptoms of COVID-19 have similar characteristics and duration to previous symptoms. This means that, as observed in primary care, discomfort usually occurs two or three days after infection.
The infection and its symptoms (cough, congestion, cough) can last three to seven days, but as with previous coronavirus variants and the common cold, it is also common to last up to ten days.
The average time to stop testing positive for coronavirus remains between five and seven days, although it may take a few more days. Typically, a positive antigen test stops sometime in the first ten days of illness, but some people remain positive after these days even if they don’t develop any symptoms.
Of course, testing positive does not mean you will continue to be infected during this time, and no special measures are currently required other than to exercise caution, use masks in closed spaces, and avoid contact with high-risk groups. be infected.