As Australia moves on from its COVID-19 zero plan, we are receiving more questions about what happens if you have recovered from COVID-19 and are no longer infectious but still testing positive on the pre-departure PCR tests.
Generally, people with mild illness are not considered infectious 10 days after their symptoms started or from 72 hours after the symptoms stopped and are considered recovered. They might, however, still return a positive COVID-19 test.
This is because people with COVID-19 have infected cells in their body that release the virus into the environment through breathing, sneezing or coughing. This is called ‘viral shedding’.
After recovering from COVID-19, some people can have non-infectious fragments of the virus left in their bodies for some time, and this may lead to a weak positive COVID-19 test.
There are no blanket requirements for every country, state, or airline and each will need to be checked, including transits, to see their specific advice. We’ve included information for some of the most common destinations and airlines.
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