COVID 19 SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENTS

• CDC – If you were Exposed
  Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. Quarantine is currently not required for people in the general public who have an exposure to someone with COVID-19. Please follow your workplace, school, and childcare guidance if stricter than what is outlined in this tool.

• CDC – Isolation
  Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. If you test positive for COVID-19, or develop symptoms after an exposure to someone who has COVID-19, you should isolate immediately. Please follow your workplace, school, and childcare guidance if stricter than what is outlined in this tool.

CDC – Symptoms Testing
Look for emergency warning signs* for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

*This list is not all possible symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you. Call 911 or call ahead to your local emergency facility: Notify the operator that you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID-19.

The following medical conditions or other factors may place persons at higher risk for progression to severe COVID-19:

• Older age (for example, age ≥ 65 years of age)

• Obesity or being overweight (for example, BMI > 25 kg/m2)

• Pregnancy

• Chronic kidney disease

• Diabetes

• Immunosuppressive disease or immunosuppressive treatment

• Cardiovascular diseases (including congenital heart disease) or hypertension

• Chronic lung diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma [moderate-to-severe], interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension)

• Sickle cell disease

• Neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy) or other complex conditions (e.g., genetic or metabolic syndromes and severe congenital anomalies)
• Having a medical-related technological dependence (e.g., tracheostomy, gastrostomy, or positive pressure ventilation (not related to COVID-19))

Exposure and isolation can occur concurrently in a household if all of the following are implemented:

Limit contact

CDC – Risks Getting Very Sick

• The person who is sick should isolate

• • The sick person should separate themselves from others in the home.
  • If possible, have the person who is sick use a separate bedroom and bathroom.
  • If possible, have the person who is sick stay in their own “sick room” or area and away from others.
  • Try to stay at least 6 feet away from the sick person.
  • Shared space: If you have to share space, make sure the room has good air flow. Open the window to increase air circulation. Improving ventilation helps remove respiratory droplets from the air.
  • Avoid having visitors. Avoid having any unnecessary visitors, especially visits by people who are at higher risk for severe illness.

• Eat in separate rooms or areas
• Avoid sharing personal items
• Wear a mask
• The person who is sick should wear a mask when they are around other people at home and out (including before they enter a doctor’s office).
• The mask helps prevent a person who is sick from spreading the virus to others. It keeps respiratory droplets contained and from reaching other people.
• Masks should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or who is not able to remove the covering without help.

Caregivers

• Put on a mask and ask the sick person to put on a mask before entering the room.

• Clean your hands often

• If you are unable to separate infectious persons from well persons in the household by following all risk reductions, it is important to implement as many of the risk reductions as possible. Household members without symptoms should take precautions immediately and for an additional 10 days after the infectious person is out of isolation. See information on exposure.

Tell Your Contacts
People you have been around during the two-day period prior to the start of your symptoms (or if you are asymptomatic, two days before your positive COVID-19 specimen collection date), through to the time you start isolation, are at greatest risk of infection and should be prioritized for notification.