Coronavirus patients are no longer infectious 11 days after first getting sick, even though some may still test positive, according to a new study by infectious disease experts.
The study, published by Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Academy of Medicine, said that a coronavirus victim becomes contagious around two days before they begin developing symptoms.
Patients are then able to transmit the bug for between seven and ten days after they start displaying signs of infection - such as a high temperature and a new and continuous cough.
However, after 11 days of illness the virus "could not be isolated or cultured after day 11 of illness", the scientists found.
Their findings, which were based on a study of 73 patents in the city-state, also revealed a positive test “does not equate to infectiousness or viable virus".
The researchers wrote: "Based on the accumulated data since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the infectious period of (coronavirus) in symptomatic individuals may begin around two days before the onset of symptoms, and persists for about seven to ten days after the onset of symptoms.”
They added: “Active viral replication drops quickly after the first week and viable virus was not found after the second week of illness.”
The experts' findings could contribute towards helping doctors refine discharge criteria for Covid-19 patients, potentially easing pressure on under-strain hospitals around the world.
More than 5.4 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded across the world since the outbreak first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year.
The global death toll continues to rise and is now approaching 350,000 people.
