How soon can I travel after recovering from the coronavirus?

The CDC said anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus should not travel until a full 10 days after their symptoms started. If they didn’t have symptoms, they should wait 10 full days after their positive test was taken. Previous guidance gave more wiggle room — the CDC earlier said people should avoid travel for a full 10 days, but if they had to travel on days six through 10, they needed to wear a well-fitting mask around others. An update last week removed that language and simply said not to travel for a full 10 days. People who have recovered from the virus but develop symptoms should not travel, the CDC said; they should isolate and consult with a health-care provider for recommendations on testing.

Do I still need to take a coronavirus test to travel if I just had covid?

If you’re traveling internationally and need to return to the United States, the CDC recommends not taking a test for 90 days after infection. That is because people who have recovered from the virus could keep testing positive for as long as three months. As long as travelers have proof that they tested positive within the past 90 days, meet the criteria to travel and have clearance from a medical professional, they don’t need to take a new test to fly back into the United States.

What documents do I need to show proof of recovery?

You will need two key items : proof of the original positive test and a letter that says you’re clear to travel. Those two components together are considered “documentation of recovery.” But it’s not as simple as showing a photo of a home test and dashing off a note explaining your timeline. The positive test proof needs to be in the form of a lab result of a viral test that includes the type of test, the issuer of the results, the date the sample was collected and identifying information about the traveler. Home tests that include a telemedicine component — where a provider confirms the identity of the person taking the test, watches the self-test, confirms the result and issues a report — are allowed. After you have obtained the test result, you also need the letter. That must come from a health-care provider or a public health official — on official letterhead — and it needs to say that you are clear to travel based on CDC’s travel guidance . That includes being free of symptoms and far enough removed from a positive test. The letter needs to include the name, address and phone number of the person who signed it as well as identifying information about the traveler — such as name and birthday — that matches travel documents.

Do I have to pay to get proof of recovery?

It depends. MDAnywhere charges $69 for the process of issuing clearance to travel (though there’s no fee if a traveler isn’t eligible and needs to be referred to another health-care provider, Tarsia said). Another telemedicine service, QuickMD, said the consultation costs $75. It is worth checking to see if your insurance will cover the cost, or if your primary care physician can provide the letter you need. Some travelers who tested positive overseas and received a letter from public health officials in the country where they self-isolated told The Washington Post that they did not have to pay for the letter.

How long is proof of recovery valid?

According to the CDC, the positive test sample needs to have been taken no more than 90 days before the flight leaves a foreign country for the United States.

Will documentation of recovery work for international travel?

Not everywhere. Some countries might allow proof of recovery in lieu of a negative test — Canada, for example, accepts proof of a positive test taken at least 11 days earlier and no more than 180 days before visiting. Tarsia said he advises patients to check on entry requirements with the State Department. “Different countries that you’re traveling to may have different requirements that are more stringent,” he said.

By The Way

6 questions about travel after recovering from covid, answered

Travelers who have recovered can bypass testing requirements, with the right documents

By Hannah Sampson

January 31, 2022 at 4:13 p.m. EST

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5 min

If you’re among the millions of people who tested positive for the coronavirus during the omicron surge, you might be feeling confident about traveling as soon as you have recovered. But how soon after an infection is too soon? Especially since it’s possible to test positive long after you have stopped being contagious. With a recent infection behind you, will you still need to follow the same international testing rules for travel?

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Anyone flying into the United States is required to test negative for the coronavirus within one day of traveling back into the country. But people who have recovered from the virus in the past 90 days can bypass that testing requirement, with the right documentation.

So what should that ever-expanding group of people do? Victor Tarsia, a co-founder of the telemedicine service MDAnywhere and an urgent-care physician, is hearing that question a lot. The company offers online doctor visits and evaluations to provide clearance to travel when patients have met the criteria.

“It’s exploded in the last month or two,” Tarsia said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of people.”

Most of them, he said, have recently recovered and are preparing for upcoming trips. This is what people in that situation need to know, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

You tested positive in a foreign country. Here's what you should do.

Coronavirus: What you need to know

Where do things stand? See the latest covid numbers in the U.S. and across the world. In the U.S., pandemic trends have shifted and now White people are more likely to die from covid than Black people.

The state of public health: Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid.

Grief and the pandemic: A Washington Post reporter covered the coronavirus — and then endured the death of her mother from covid-19. She offers a window into grief and resilience.

Would we shut down again? What will the United States do the next time a deadly virus comes knocking on the door?

Vaccines: The CDC recommends that everyone age 5 and older get an updated covid booster shot. New federal data shows adults who received the updated shots cut their risk of being hospitalized with covid-19 by 50 percent. Here’s guidance on when you should get the omicron booster and how vaccine efficacy could be affected by your prior infections.

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