Central District Health Provides Reminder of COVID-19 Resources and Information

Central District Health (CDH) staff are happy to answer your COVID-19 related questions. Additionally, would like to share information related to some of the more common questions we receive.

Website
CDH maintains a number of COVID-19-related guidance documents and resources for health care providers on our website (https://cdh.idaho.gov/dac-coronavirus-hc.php) including what to do if a staff member tests positive and information for patients who test positive.

Investigation Process
During our case investigation process, CDH collects information from the person pertaining to their activities during their exposure period and elicits information regarding close contacts. Close contacts are those people who were within 6 feet of the person for at least 15 minutes during their infectious period (starting two days before the onset of symptoms).

Those people identified as close contacts are notified by CDH staff and recommended to self-quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure. We understand that some health care providers are collecting information regarding close contacts and ask that if this is your practice to please fax that information to 208-327-7100. We have found that many people do not like to provide close contact information to CDH if it has already been collected by a health care provider.

Testing Asymptomatic Contacts
The Idaho COVID-19 Testing Strategy includes considerations for testing of asymptomatic people who are identified as close contacts to an infectious person as testing capacity allows. Testing should not be used as a means to prematurely release someone from self-quarantine. Close contacts who are tested should be encouraged to continue to self-quarantine for a full 14 days from the last exposure.

Isolation After Testing
In recent weeks, test results have been taking between 0-7 days based on the lab used. Please reinforce with patients who are showing signs or symptoms of COVID-19 that they should be isolated until their test is resulted.

Release of Isolation
For immunocompetent persons with lab-confirmed COVID-19, CDH is using the symptom-based strategy for release from isolation. This strategy entails home isolation for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms (day 0) with at least 3 days being afebrile and demonstrating symptom improvement without the use of medication. For cases we investigate, CDH staff follow up with people during their home isolation to aid in the release of isolation determination.