Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, global director of ICAP, was quoted in a Oct 2 article in NPR presenting the latest science behind the COVID window period, or the time between exposure to the coronavirus and a positive test. As with HIV, people who have contracted COVID-19 don’t test positive immediately. It takes several days after they’ve been exposed for the virus to show up in quantities that can be detected by tests. Dr. El-Sadr explained further:
“The average incubation period is about five days. That’s the period of time between exposure to the virus and the development of symptoms. “[Though] it could be as short as two days. Or it could be as long as 14 days.”
