What Is the Coronavirus? 10 Things to Know
5. How Long Is the Incubation Period of Coronavirus?
An important consideration with any disease is the incubation period. This is the amount of time it takes for symptoms to start showing up in a person who is infected with an illness. This amount of time matters because if an illness has a long incubation period, people may travel and interact with many other people and potentially infect them before ever realizing that they are sick.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dangerous infections for this coronavirus may have an incubation period anywhere between three and 14 days. While an exact length of time hasn’t been pinned down, this estimate helps doctors and health workers determine how long someone should be quarantined after coming into contact with the virus before they are in the clear.
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