Coronavirus, what should I do if I find a positive? All the answers to the doubts of the emergency in progress

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We sail in sight. Fear of uncontrolled contagion, in the collective hysteria of “who knew who”. The tracking system could not withstand the brunt of a second violent wave of the coronavirus. A few weeks ago we were enjoying the data: the numbers were more or less stable, while in Europe they were running. Today we are faced with the widespread chaos of the Ats, with the queues at the drive-in of the pads. Swabs are the most popular subject. Because in this emergency, the infodemic, the excessive amount of information, sometimes not scrutinized with precision, is another worrying aspect. So let’s try to balance, “trying to figure out what to do if …”.

Indirect contact with a positive

If I am a contact contact (that is, if I have had close contact with a person who has had close contact with a positive), I will not have to do anything. Unless the person I had contact with becomes positive during their quarantine.

Direct contact with a positive

In this case, things change. If I don’t have symptoms, I have to quarantine for 14 days. In case you want to go out earlier, I can swab from the 10th day (therefore, I have allowed time for any contagion to reveal itself). If, on the contrary, I am symptomatic, I take a swab which, if it is negative, liberates me. If, on the contrary, the swab is positive, they are no longer a “contact” but a “case”.

Positive without symptoms and with symptoms

If it is a positive but asymptomatic case: return to the community after a negative swab performed after at least 10 days of isolation. In the case of positivity with symptoms: return to the community after a negative swab, performed after at least 10 days of isolation and at least 3 days without symptoms (these 3 days can be included in the 10 or later: this can vary from case to case until you recover from symptoms).

Long-term positive

During this emergency, unfortunately, we learned that there are also cases of long-term positivity, and it is that while recovering from all symptoms except changes in taste and smell that often persist for many weeks, the subject continues testing positive for molecular buffer. If this hypothesis occurs, I return to the community after 21 days of isolation, where authorized by the health authorities in relation to the specific case: some cases, such as immunosuppressed people, can in fact remain highly contagious for a long time and will not be authorized.