The CDC's current rule: end isolation when, for at least 24 hours, you are fever-free without medication and your symptoms are improving overall.
Then take 5 days of added precautions - mask, distance, cleaner air - since shedding continues after you feel fine. Severe illness or immune suppression stretches the timeline, and a rebound (returning fever or symptoms) restarts the clock. Around high-risk people, hold the precautions longer or use a negative test as the green light.
What to do
Common questions
When can I stop isolating after COVID?
The CDC has moved from fixed isolation day-counts to a condition-based exit for all respiratory viruses, COVID included: you can return to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true - your symptoms are getting better overall, and you have had no fever without fever-reducing medication. That is the end of isolation proper. What follows is not the end of caution: the guidance then calls for five days of added precautions - a well-fitting mask around others, cleaner air, testing, and physical distance - because you can still shed virus even though you feel recovered. The situations that stretch the timeline: severe illness or a weakened immune system can mean contagiousness for weeks, and your doctor's advice outranks the general rule; and living with or visiting someone high-risk is a reason to hold the extra precautions longer, or to use a negative test as your green light before close contact. The rebound caveat: Paxlovid and natural rebounds happen - if symptoms or fever return after improving, restart the clock. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you plan your specific exit.