News

Contact: Karl Hertz

If you think you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please follow the recommendations below to monitor your health and help prevent the spread of disease to others. Please remember the words of the Surgeon General of the United States on March 23rd: “Everyone needs to act as if they have the virus right now. So, test or no test, we need you to understand you could be spreading it to someone else. Or you could be getting it from someone else. Stay at home.”

How do I know if I was exposed?

It is likely that you need to be in direct close contact with someone with COVID-19 when they have symptoms, or during the 48 hours (at least 2 days) before they develop symptoms, to get infected.

What Is Close Contact:

• Living in the same household as a sick person with COVID-19
• Caring for a sick person with COVID-19
• Being within 6 feet of a sick person with COVID-19 for 10 minutes or longer,

OR

• Being in direct contact with respiratory droplets from a sick person with COVID-19 (e.g., being coughed or sneezed on, sharing utensils)

What if I have not had direct close contact with a person with COVID-19?

• Your risk of exposure is low.
• You can continue your normal activities, within reason and according to state and local advisements.
• You should continue to monitor yourself for symptoms, and stay away from others if you get sick.

What should I do if I was in close contact with someone with COVID-19 while they were ill, but I am not currently sick?

This is what we call Quarantine, which means you were exposed but are not showing symptoms. During quarantine you need to do the following:

• Monitor yourself for:
  • fever (or signs of fever such as body aches and chills)
  • cough
  • shortness of breath
  • sore throat,

for 14 days after the last day you were in close contact with the person with COVID-19.

• Do not go to school or work.
• Avoid public spaces, public activities, and group gatherings. You should avoid public places for the entire 14 days.

What should I do if I get sick?

This is what we have termed Isolation, which means you need to isolate yourself from others, even those who live in or frequently visit your home.

• If you develop symptoms of:
• fever (or signs of fever such as body aches and chills)
• cough
• shortness of breath
• sore throat,

even if your symptoms are mild, you may have COVID-19.

• Do not go to school or work.
• Avoid public spaces, public activities and group gatherings.
• If you have a condition that may put you at a higher risk of developing severe disease; have chronic medical conditions, are over the age 60, or are pregnant, call your healthcare provider and let them know that you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• If you do not have a high-risk condition and have mild symptoms, you should isolate yourself from others, including those who live or spend time in your home.
• Call your healthcare provider if you want medical advice and tell them that you were exposed to someone with COVID-19. Your healthcare provider can help you decide if you need to be evaluated in person or tested. Learn more about what to do if you are sick.

If you have a medical emergency and need to call 911, tell the dispatch personnel that you may have been exposed to COVID-19. If possible, put on a face mask before emergency medical services arrive or immediately after they arrive.

If I developed symptoms, when can I resume my normal activities?

If you are sick, you must stay home and Isolate until:

• Your fever has been gone for 72 hours (three full days) without using fever-reducing medicine,

AND

• Your other symptoms have improved,

AND

• At least seven days have passed since your symptoms first began.

Having a test will not change the advice to stay home if you are sick.