How long should I keep my child home with COVID? Dr. Mallika Marshall answers your questions

BOSTON - Dr. Mallika Marshall is answering your latest health questions. If you have a question, email her or message her on Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter).    

A parent in Watertown writes, "My son has tested positive for COVID. He has a cough but no fever. How long should I keep him out of camp?"

The official recommendation by the CDC is to stay home and away from others until you are fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducers, like Tylenol, and your symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours.  But even when your son is feeling better, he could still be infectious, so he should wear a mask around others for an additional five days.  

You could also test him again, and if he is negative, he is unlikely to pass the virus on to others.

In:
• Health
• COVID-19

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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