Your questions on the coronavirus, answered: What is the duration of omicron covid-19 symptoms?

People with mild covid-19 — of whatever strain — tend to bounce back in a week or two, according to Johns Hopkins. Research shows they probably aren’t at risk of spreading the virus to others 10 days after the onset of symptoms, provided that their symptoms have improved in that time and they aren’t feverish. Severe cases, on the other hand, can stretch for more than a month and leave people contagious for longer. There also is the vexing problem of “long covid,” which can cause some symptoms to linger for many months, even in vaccinated people.