Coronavirus can live in your body up to 37 days, new study says

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By VT

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A new study has found that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, can live in your body up to 37 days.

The research was published in The Lancet medical journal on Wednesday. In addition to its finding that the virus can live in the respiratory fact for a long as five weeks, it also found that antiviral drugs were ineffective in shortening the coronavirus's lifespan.

These are the symptoms of the coronavirus:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/cRWTeBf0-Q0L14jDU.mp4||cRWTeBf0]]

According to the study, patients who exhibited severe symptoms had the virus in their systems for an average of 19 days. Whereas those exhibiting critical symptoms had it in their body for an average of 24. Those who were eventually discharged from hospital had detectable coronavirus for an average of 20 days, and those who died from COVID-19 had the virus present in their bodies until death.

The study found that the coronavirus will stay in a person's respiratory tract for a minimum of eight days. But it also found that traces of the virus could be present for up to 37.

"This has important implications for both patient isolation decision making and guidance around the length of antiviral treatment," the authors of the study concluded.

This is when you should self isolate: 
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/B3QisMfl-YXhMkIor.mp4||B3QisMfl]]

The official advice from the CDC is that any Americans who have been in contact with a person who has been to an infected area, or visited one themselves, should self-quarantine for two weeks.

CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus said the findings cannot be used to update the current recommendations until it has been determined absolutely.

"This is an important study to understand the medical course of patients who have symptomatic cases of Covid-19 infection," he said. "I would be very cautious to use these data to quantify periods of being infectious. This information has yet to be determined definitively."

These are the current CDC recommended steps that you should take if you think you have contracted coronavirus.

In a report from the World Health Organization on Wednesday, they declared that the COVID-19 outbreak is now being officially recognized as a pandemic:

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death."

As per the WorldOMeter dashboard, at the time of writing, there have now been 135,832 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 128 countries, and 4,990 people have lost their lives.

Coronavirus can live in your body up to 37 days, new study says

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

A new study has found that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, can live in your body up to 37 days.

The research was published in The Lancet medical journal on Wednesday. In addition to its finding that the virus can live in the respiratory fact for a long as five weeks, it also found that antiviral drugs were ineffective in shortening the coronavirus's lifespan.

These are the symptoms of the coronavirus:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/cRWTeBf0-Q0L14jDU.mp4||cRWTeBf0]]

According to the study, patients who exhibited severe symptoms had the virus in their systems for an average of 19 days. Whereas those exhibiting critical symptoms had it in their body for an average of 24. Those who were eventually discharged from hospital had detectable coronavirus for an average of 20 days, and those who died from COVID-19 had the virus present in their bodies until death.

The study found that the coronavirus will stay in a person's respiratory tract for a minimum of eight days. But it also found that traces of the virus could be present for up to 37.

"This has important implications for both patient isolation decision making and guidance around the length of antiviral treatment," the authors of the study concluded.

This is when you should self isolate: 
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/B3QisMfl-YXhMkIor.mp4||B3QisMfl]]

The official advice from the CDC is that any Americans who have been in contact with a person who has been to an infected area, or visited one themselves, should self-quarantine for two weeks.

CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus said the findings cannot be used to update the current recommendations until it has been determined absolutely.

"This is an important study to understand the medical course of patients who have symptomatic cases of Covid-19 infection," he said. "I would be very cautious to use these data to quantify periods of being infectious. This information has yet to be determined definitively."

These are the current CDC recommended steps that you should take if you think you have contracted coronavirus.

In a report from the World Health Organization on Wednesday, they declared that the COVID-19 outbreak is now being officially recognized as a pandemic:

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

"Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death."

As per the WorldOMeter dashboard, at the time of writing, there have now been 135,832 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 128 countries, and 4,990 people have lost their lives.