The incubation period for COVID-19 refers to the time between when a person is infected with the virus and when they might experience symptoms. This period is crucial for understanding the spread of the virus and informs public health protocols, patient follow-up, and contact tracing. The incubation period can vary depending on the specific strain of the virus. For the original strain of COVID-19, the incubation period was around 6.65 days, while for the Omicron variant, it is approximately 3.42 days
. Different COVID-19 variants have different incubation periods:
- Alpha variant: 5.0 days
- Beta variant: 4.50 days
- Delta variant: 4.41 days
- Omicron variant: 2-3 days
The infectiousness of a person is highest one day before the start of symptoms and begins to wane about a week later for most people
. It is essential to understand the incubation period to better protect yourself and others, as well as to determine the timing of COVID tests for reliable results
