Dr. Trapp From Bryan Health Answers COVID-19 Questions

Dr. John Trapp, pulmonologist for Bryan Health, answered questions about COVID-19 questions and what Bryan Health is currently doing.

How long can someone have COVID-19 and be asymptomatic?

Dr. Trapp said that right now, they wish they had an answer. “Primarily we are testing patients who come in with symptoms. We may test people who have had exposures, and we know people can have the virus without showing symptoms. We just don’t know for how long yet,” Trapp explained. He said it will take some time to know more about this issue.

How long does it take for COVID-19 to run it’s course?

Dr. Trapp said that this varies per patient. “Some people have a more mild case of the illness that may last three or four days” he explained, “other people may have a longer course requiring hospitalization.”

How long after one has the virus are they contagious?

“The current thought is that you are contagious as long as you have symptoms,” Trapp said. “When you have a fever and cough, you are highly contagious. As the disease resolves, you become less contagious.” He said that you should remain isolated until the fever/symptoms are managed without medication, or three days after symptoms stop.

If you get the virus, do you build immunity and can you get it again?

“There is a lot of testing going on right now to find this out,” said Dr. Trapp. “The belief right now is that you can build immunity, but it is unknown how long that immunity can last.”

READ MORE: State And Local COVID-19 Info Center Update