According to recent epidemiological studies, the incubation period for COVID-19 is 1 to 14 days, mostly 3 to 7 days.
The most common clinical symptoms for which laboratory PCR testing for COVID-19 is recommended are as follows:
- Dry cough
- Fever
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden onset of anosmia, ageusia or dysgeusia
- Headache
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Fatigue
- Vomiting and / or diarrhea
- Blood oxygen level (saturation) below 92% (hypoxia)
The main manifestations include fever, fever lasting more than 5 days, despite antibiotic and antipyretic therapy, fatigue and dry cough. The following symptoms may also be present: nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, lack of sense of smell, myalgia and / or diarrhea. Severe cases mostly develop dyspnoea (shortness of breath) and / or hypoxemia after one week. In severe cases, patients rapidly progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, metabolic acidosis, which is difficult to correct, coagulopathy, multiple organ failure and others. It is worth noting that in severely and critically ill patients, their fever may be moderate to low or even barely noticeable. Some children and newborns may have atypical symptoms, manifested as gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, or manifested only as weakness and shortness of breath.