The CDC has not provided an official definition of what it means for a COVID-19 patient to recover, in the sense of returning to a pre-COVID-19 state of health, but it does provide some guidance on when COVID-19 patients no longer need to be isolated. In its guidance for “discontinuation of Transmission-Based Precautions” for persons with COVID-19, the CDC recommends using a “symptom-based strategy,” which calls for releasing people with mild cases of COVID-19 from isolation 10 days after their illness began, if and only if their symptoms have improved without the need of medication. Those who are asymptomatic or immunocompromised should still be tested to see if they have any remaining virus in their system, but they should consult with local health experts instead of relying only on negative test results.