After how many days would you test negative?

[Sb2012]

Anyone have any experience with this? Has anyone had a negative test after a positive Covid test? How many days after did you test negative?
Thanks

My understanding is that it can vary and some people test positive for weeks. They say to get a test within 5 days of symptoms starting though, so that may be a reasonable guess as to the earliest you could expect to possibly test negative despite having/having had it.

Think its now test within 8 days of symptoms. You isolate for 10 days so could be testing positive up until then.

Some people test positive for months after their initial diagnosis

Have just checked my info:
In England you test within 8 days
In Scotland you test within 5 days

Following

Those people who test positive after many weeks are not thought to be infectious at that point, because only a very small number of virus particles are present.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-54465313

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54188163

montreal.ctvnews.ca/55-days-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19-during-labour-mother-reunited-with-baby-son-1.4972316

Various new stories about people testing positive for weeks after symptoms have gone

What happens if you are having a covid test before admission to hospital but had covid weeks before?

My relative is going for a covid test in a few days before an operation next week. They are quite sure they had covid about 4 weeks ago. Couldn’t get a test in time so isolated for the amount required. Every symptom pointed to it.

Will they cancel their op based on a test that could say they are still positive when they aren’t contagious anymore?

So I asked my colleague who had Covid in June.
Back then they were not as strict with the testing. After his positive test he didn’t test negative until day 10.
His wife was negative by day 7 after her positive test.
Both had very mild symptoms. Just lost smell and taste

No direct experience but a relitave was admitted to hospital as an emergency back in june, she tested neg on admission, was tested a week later as developed a slight cough (and was at a hospital that was on the national news about its appalling rate of infections there both in staff and patients) and tested positive, she was in for another 10 days and had to have a neg test before they would release her home, which she got around 9 days after the positive. She sadly died of unrelated causes (terminal illness discovered) but she didn’t fair bad with Covid, just slight cough for 2hrs, tired and dizzy, some of course may have been down to the illness she was suffering from.

*24hrs

After a positive test, it is recommended that people do not have a repeat test (e.g. some were requesting a test before returning to work) because people can continue to test positive for up to 3 months. This is because the test is a PCR test and detects viral DNA and so can detect fragments of dead viral DNA and return a positive result long after the initial infection and infectious period.

For this reason, the PHE guidance has recently been updated to state that healthcare workers who are regularly tested as part of workplace testing (e.g. care home staff) should not be tested again for 90 days following a positive test result, because of the chance of a persistently positive result. If they develop COVID-19 symptoms within these 90 days though, then they should be tested again because of the chance of re-infection.

You can continue to test positive for an average of 17 days after you are no longer infectious, but could be anything up to 83 days (longer time periods would only apply to a small minority, especially at the extreme ends). It also depends on the sensitivity of the PCR test.

mobile.twitter.com/invadingpirate/status/1313393745245732876

I was sick in mid March. Most of the covid symptoms, no test.
Relapsed or reinfected with similar, milder symptoms 1st week May. Positive test.
Tested negative 1st week June.

I retested in June because I was invited to by the zoe app, by the way.