COVID-19 Checklist for When You Are Sick

Responding to COVID-19

If you develop the below symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or other symptoms that are severe or concerning, call your healthcare provider for medical advice.

Always call 911 if you have a medical emergency. Notify the operator if you have, or think you might have, COVID-19.

You may have COVID-19 if you have:

• Fever or chills.
• A cough.
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches.
• Headache.
• Sore throat.
• Loss of taste or smell.
• Congestion or runny nose.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Diarrhea.

Symptoms may be mild to severe and may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a “self-checker” tool to help you make decisions about seeking appropriate medical care. You can find it here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/index.html.

If you are sick with COVID-19 or suspect you have COVID-19, you should:

• Stay home except to get medical care. People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to recover at home but should not leave or visit public areas.
• Keep in touch with your doctor. Call before you get medical care. Be sure to get care if you feel worse or you think it is an emergency. Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis.
• Separate yourself from other people in your home. As much as possible, stay in a specific “sick room.” Use a separate bathroom, if available. Limit contact with pets and animals; there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is recommended that people with the virus limit contact with animals; it appears COVID-19 can spread from people to animals in some situations.
• If you have a medical appointment, call your doctor’s office or emergency department, and tell them you have or may have COVID-19.
• Wear a cloth covering over your nose and mouth (unless you have trouble breathing) if you must be around other people or animals, including pets, even at home. You don’t need to wear the cloth face covering if you are alone. Never put masks on children 2 or younger or people who cannot remove them on their own.
• Try to stay at least 6 feet away from other people, even at home.

• Follow the additional prevention tips in the graphic below; especially, cover coughs and sneezes, wash hands often, and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.

• Do not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people in your home. Wash thoroughly after use.

• Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in your “sick room” and bathroom every day with household cleaners and disinfectants, using as directed on the label; ask someone else to clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in other areas of the home. Clean and disinfect areas that may have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.

• Monitor your symptoms and seek medical care if they are worsening (for example, if you have difficulty breathing). Call the doctor or emergency department before going.
• If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include* the following:

1. Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
2. Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.
3. New confusion or inability to arouse.
4. Bluish lips or face.

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

• If you waiting for test results and have symptoms or suspect you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should stay home and follow the recommendations found in “Waiting for and Receiving COVID-19 Test Results.”

Use current CDC criteria to determine when you can stop isolating and leave home. As of July 17, guidelines are as follows.

• If you are waiting for test results and have symptoms or suspect you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should stay home and follow the recommendations found in the CDC’s “Isolate if You Are Sick” guidance.
• Use current CDC criteria to determine when you can stop isolating and leave home. Guidelines are as follows.
  
  • If you have symptoms, whether you have or have not been tested, stay home until:
    • At least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first began AND
    • At least 24 hours have passed since there has been no fever without use of fever-reducing medication AND
    • There has been improvement in other symptoms.
      
      If you are severely immunocompromised, consult with your healthcare provider to determine if a longer timeframe may be recommended.
  • If you have no symptoms and lab-confirmed COVID-19, stay home until:
    
    • At least 10 days have passed since the date of your first positive test. However, if you develop symptoms in that time period, refer instead to the criteria for people with symptoms (above).

If you are severely immunocompromised, consult with your healthcare provider to determine if a longer timeframe may be recommended.