Coronavirus: When should you take a COVID test if you have cold symptoms?

COVID-19 and common cold are respiratory illnesses that may differ in their degree of severity, but are transmitted in the same way. Both viruses can spread from one person to another through respiratory droplets released when someone breathes, coughs, sneezes, talks or sings. However, both these illnesses are different.

According to the Mayo Clinic, COVID-19 symptoms usually start 2 to 14 days after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. But symptoms of a common cold usually appear 1 to 3 days after exposure to a cold-causing virus.

“Unlike COVID-19, a cold is usually harmless. Most people recover from a common cold in 3 to 10 days. But some colds may last as long as two or three weeks,” the health body adds.

Also read: Coronavirus: COVID XBB.1.5 more ‘cold-like’; how to know if you have COVID or common cold