COVID-19:
Isolation timeline for households with infection
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If you are sick with COVID-19 or think you might have it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends isolating yourself in a seperate room and staying home except to get medical care. Call your doctor and get care if you feel worse or you think it is an emergency.
The decision of when to end home isolation should be made in consultation with your healthcare provider and state and local health departments. Local decisions depend on local circumstances. The following are general guidelines from the Centers for Desease Control and Prevention:
If you live with someone who has symptoms
For people who think or know they had COVID-19
and had symptoms
For people who tested
positive for COVID-19 but
had no symptoms
No fever for at least 24 hours
(Without use of medicine
to reduce fever)
They can be around others after these two things have happened:
Symptoms have improved*
They can be around others after these three things have happened:
AND
At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared
AND
Continue to have
no symptoms
At least 10 days since the date of first postive test
AND
Home isolation may end
Home isolation may end
*Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.
How long to self-isolate?
Most people do not require testing to decide when they can be around others; however, if your healthcare provider recommends testing, they will let you know when you can resume being around others based on your test results. Depending upon the local community mobility restrictions put in place, people with COVID-19 who have stayed home can stop home isolation under the following conditions:
Example household scenario
Day since first symptoms appeared with first household member
People in household
Gets sick
Starts 10-day count
No fever for 24 hours and symptoms improved, so isolation ends
Parent
1
Child
1
Parent
2
Gets sick
Starts 10-day count
No fever for 24 hours and symptoms improved, so isolation ends
No symptoms, so quarantine ends
If you live with others and you are the first in the household to have symptoms of COVID-19, then you must stay at home for at least 10 days.
See symptoms
If anyone else in the household starts displaying symptoms, they stay at home for 10 days from when their symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.
Household members who remain well, stay in quarantine for 14 days, calculated from the day of last exposure. Check with local public health authorities for otions to reduce quarantine.
Fever
Symptom comparison:
COVID-19 vs. flu vs. cold
Symptom
COVID-19
Flu
Cold
Often
Often
Rare
Often
Often
Rare
Often
Rare
Rare
Often
Often
Sometimes
Sometimes
Often
Often
Sometimes
Often
Rare
Sometimes
Sometimes
Often
Sometimes
Sometimes
Rare
Rare
Sometimes
Often
Rare
Rare
Often
COUGH
SHORTNESS OF BREATH
FATIGUE
BODY ACHES
HEADACHE
SORE THROAT
DIARRHEA/GI
STUFFY NOSE
SNEEZING
Source: Yale New Haven Health
Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days after their last exposure to that person. This is because it can take up to 14 days for symptoms to appear (the incubation period.) Check your local health department’s website for information about options in your area to possibly shorten this quarantine period.
Household members, intimate partners, and caregivers may have close contact with a person with symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or a person under investigation. Close contact is defined as being within approximately 6 feet for a prolonged period of time or having direct contact with infectious secretions, such as being coughed on. Caregivers should monitor their own health and call their healthcare provider right away if they develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. The caregiver, when possible, should not be someone who is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
Guidelines for caregivers
Monitor for
emergency signs
Most people who get sick with COVID-19 will have only mild illness and should recover at home.* Care at home can help stop the spread of COVID-19 and help protect people who are at risk for getting seriously ill from COVID-19. Home care should include:
Prevent
the spread
of germs
Provide
symptom
treatment
*Note: Older adults and people of any age with certain serious underlying medical conditions like lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes are at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness and should seek care as soon as symptoms start.
SOURCES: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Yale New Haven Health
Prevent the spread of germs
• The sick person should stay in a specific room and away from other people in the home. Use a separate bathroom, if available.
• Prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.
• If the sick person needs to be around others (within the home, in a vehicle, or doctor’s office), they should wear a facemask.
• If the sick person can’t wear a facemask, the caregiver should wear one while in the same room with them.
• If you have to share space, make sure the room has good air flow.
Open a window and turn on a fan (if possible) to increase air circulation.
• Avoid sharing personal items like dishes, towels, and bedding.
• Wash laundry thoroughly and wear disposable gloves while handling soiled items.
• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or clean hands with hand sanitizer.
• Clean all surfaces that are touched often, like counters, tabletops, and doorknobs.
• Help the patient with basic needs in the home and provide support for getting groceries, prescriptions, and other personal needs. Consider having the items delivered through a delivery service, if possible.
• Make sure the sick person drinks a lot of fluids to stay hydrated and rests at home.
• Over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen,
may help with symptoms.
• For most people, symptoms last a few days and get better after a week.
Provide symptom treatment
Get medical attention immediately if these warning signs develop*:
• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion or inability to arouse
• Bluish lips or face
*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.
Monitor for emergency signs
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Symptoms have improved*
At least seven days since symptoms first appeared
AND
Home isolation may end
to determine if they are still contagious, they can leave home after these three things have happened:
Symptom comparison:
COVID-19 vs. flu vs. cold
Gets sick
Starts 7-day count
No fever for 3 days and symptoms improved, so isolation ends
More CDC information here
More WHO information here
Some U.S. hospital guidelines:
No symptoms, so isolation ends
The National Health Service, United Kingdom, recommends if you live with someone who has symptoms, you'll need to stay at home for 14 days from the day their symptoms started. Some U.S. hospitals are recommending isolation for 14 days after the day of last exposure to someone with symptoms. This is because it can take up to 14 days for symptoms to appear (the incubation period).
Know how the virus spreads
• The virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading very easily and sustainably between people. It is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
• Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.
• It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but more is still being learned about this virus.
Know how the virus spreads
• The virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading very easily and sustainably between people. It is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
• Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.
• It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but more is still being learned about this virus.
Provide symptom treatment
If they are self-isolating, they can leave their “sick room” and home when:
For people who were severely ill with COVID-19
or have a weakened immune system due to a health condition or medication
People who are severely ill with COVID-19 might need to stay home longer than 10 days and up to 20 days after symptoms first appeared. Persons who are severely immunocompromised may require testing to determine when they can be around others. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information.
For all people: When leaving the home, keep a distance of 6 feet from others and wear a cloth face covering when around other people.
LOSS OF TASTE/SMELL
Sometimes
Never
Never
Loss of
taste/smell
Sometimes
Never
Never
But if they develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the guidance for those with symptoms.
They can be around others
after these two things have happened:
But if they develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the guidance for those with symptoms.
For people who think or know they had COVID-19
and had symptoms
For all people: When leaving the home, keep a distance of 6 feet from others and wear a cloth face covering when around other people.
Last day of possible exposure
Possible exposure
No symptoms, so quarantine ends
Possible exposure