Isolation, Testing, and Masking Calculator

This page is being reviewed for updates. The Washington State Department of Health has updated its guidance for what to do if you are sick with COVID-19 or were exposed to COVID-19. This page may have content that is inconsistent with the new guidance.

Please see below for how to calculate your isolation period and for how to calculate when to get tested and when you can remove your mask after being exposed to COVID-19. For additional information on what to do during isolation, please see What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 (PDF). For additional information on what to do if you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19, please see What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19 (PDF).

If you are immunocompromised or were severely ill with COVID-19, these calculators likely do not apply to your situation. Please see What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 (PDF) for additional information.

If you are staying or working in a higher risk setting these calculators may not apply to your situation. Higher-risk settings include: health care facilities, correctional facilities, detention facilities, homeless shelters, transitional housing, commercial maritime settings (e.g., commercial seafood vessel, cargo ship, cruise ship), temporary worker housing, or crowded work sites where physical distancing is not possible due to the nature of the work (e.g., warehouses, factories, and food packaging and meat processing facilities). Please see What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 (PDF) and What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19 (PDF) for more information.

I tested positive and have or had symptoms: calculate my isolation period

5 Day Isolation

You can end isolation after 5 days if:

  • Your symptoms have improved, AND
  • 24 hours have passed since you had a fever or have used fever-reducing medicine

If these criteria apply your last FULL day of isolation is:
Your isolation ENDS on:

You should wear a high quality and well-fitting mask when around other people for 5 more days (until ) and avoid activities where you cannot wear a mask. You should also avoid being around people who are at high risk until . See the CDC's Travel page for information on travel.

If you have access to an antigen test, you can further decrease your risk of infecting others by taking a test when you plan to leave isolation, no sooner than day 6 (). Only start testing if you are fever free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. Loss of taste or smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and should not delay the end of isolation.

  • If your test is positive, you are likely still contagious. You should continue to isolate and wear a mask and wait 24-48 hours to test again.
  • If you test negative on two sequential (back-to-back) tests each performed 24-48 hours apart, you can end isolation and stop wearing a mask before day 10, which is .

If you continue to test positive on repeat testing through , you should continue to wear a mask and avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease until you receive two sequential negative antigen test results.

10 Day Isolation

If the above criteria do not apply to you, then you should isolate for 10 days.

If you are isolating for 10 days, your last FULL day of isolation is:
Your isolation ENDS on:

If your symptoms have not improved or you continue to have a fever (or require fever-reducing medications) on , wait to end your isolation until your symptoms have improved and you have not had a fever for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications.

I tested positive but I never had any symptoms: calculate my isolation period

5 Day Isolation

If you never had symptoms your last FULL day of isolation is:
Your isolation ENDS on:

You should wear a high quality and well-fitting mask when around other people for 5 more days (until ) and avoid activities where you cannot wear a mask. You should also avoid being around people who are at high risk until . See the CDC's Travel page for information on travel.

If you have access to an antigen test, you can further decrease your risk of infecting others by taking a test when you plan to leave isolation, no sooner than day 6 (). Only start testing if you are fever free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. Loss of taste or smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and should not delay the end of isolation.

  • If your test is positive, you are likely still contagious. You should continue to isolate and wear a mask and wait 24-48 hours to test again.
  • If you test negative on two sequential (back-to-back) tests each performed 24-48 hours apart, you can end isolation and stop wearing a mask before day 10, which is .

If you continue to test positive on repeat testing through , you should continue to wear a mask and avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease until you receive two sequential negative antigen test results.

10 Day Isolation

If the above criteria do not apply to you, then you should isolate for 10 days.

If you are isolating for 10 days, your last FULL day of isolation is:
Your isolation ENDS on

I was exposed to COVID-19 (identified as a close contact): calculate when I should get tested and when I can remove my mask

You were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but you do not have any symptoms.

Wear a high quality and well-fitting mask when around other people, avoid activities where you cannot wear a mask, and avoid being around people who are high risk for severe disease until 10 full days have passed since your last exposure (until ). See the CDC's Travel page for information on travel.

You should also get tested, even if you don’t develop symptoms. Get tested 3-5 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19 (between - ).

  • If your test is positive, you should stay at home and isolate from others (for more information on isolation, please see What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 (PDF)).
  • If you test negative by an antigen test, you should retest with another antigen test 24-48 hours after the first negative test. If the second test is negative, but concerns exist for COVID-19, you may retest 24-48 hours after the second antigen test, for a total of at least 3 tests. If you get a negative result on the third test and are concerned you could have COVID-19, you may choose to test again using an antigen test, consider getting a laboratory molecular test, or call your health care provider. If you do not have adequate resources to test 3 times with an antigen test, it is acceptable to test less in accordance with your resources and the level of risk to you and those around you.

If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and have no symptoms but had COVID-19 in the past 30 days, testing is not recommended. If you had COVID-19 within the past 30-90 days, use an antigen test (not a PCR test), as PCR results may remain persistently positive even if there is not a new, active infection.

If you were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and you have symptoms, please see What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19 (PDF).