- Cover your coughs and sneezes
-
Cover: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
-
Dispose: Throw used tissues in a lined trash can.
-
Wash hands: Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with an alcohol-based
hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Clean your hands often
-
Wash hands: Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This
is especially important after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing;
going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.
-
Hand sanitizer: If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
with at least 60% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing
them together until they feel dry.
-
Soap and water: Soap and water are the best option, especially if hands are visibly dirty.
-
Avoid touching: Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid sharing personal household items
-
Do not share: Do not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels,
or bedding with other people in your home.
-
Wash thoroughly after use: After using these items, wash them thoroughly with soap and water or put
in the dishwasher.
Clean all “high-touch” surfaces every day
Clean high-touch surfaces in your isolation area (“sick room”
and bathroom) every day; let a caregiver clean and disinfect high-touch
surfaces in other areas of the home.
-
Clean and disinfect: Routinely clean high-touch surfaces in your “sick room” and
bathroom. Let someone else clean and disinfect surfaces in common areas,
but not your bedroom and bathroom.
- If a caregiver or other person needs to clean and disinfect a sick person’s
bedroom or bathroom, they should do so on an as-needed basis. The caregiver/other
person should wear a mask and wait as long as possible after the sick
person has used the bathroom.
High-touch surfaces include phones, remote controls, counters, tabletops,
doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables.
-
Clean and disinfect areas that may have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.
-
Household cleaners and disinfectants: Clean the area or item with soap and water or another detergent if it
is dirty. Then, use a household disinfectant.
-
Be sure to follow the instructions on the label to ensure safe and effective
use of the product. Many products recommend keeping the surface wet for
several minutes to ensure germs are killed. Many also recommend precautions
such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during
use of the product.
- Most EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective.
- Monitor your symptoms
-
Seek medical attention, but call first: Seek medical care right away if your illness is worsening (for example,
if you have difficulty breathing).
-
Call your doctor before going in: Before going to the doctor’s office or emergency room, call ahead
and tell them your symptoms. They will tell you what to do.
-
Wear a facemask: If possible, put on a facemask before you enter the building. If you can’t
put on a facemask, try to keep a safe distance from other people (at least
6 feet away). This will help protect the people in the office or waiting room.
-
Follow care instructions from your healthcare provider and local health
department: Your local health authorities will give instructions on checking your symptoms
and reporting information.
Call 911 if you have a medical emergency: If you have a medical emergency and need to call 911, notify the operator
that you have or think you might have, COVID-19. If possible, put on a
facemask before medical help arrives.
How to discontinue home isolation
-
People
with COVID-19 who have stayed home (home isolated) can stop home isolation under the following conditions:
-
If you will not have a test to determine if you are still contagious, you can leave home after these
three things have happened:
- You have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of
no fever without the use medicine that reduces fevers) AND
- other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness
of breath have improved) AND
- at least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared
-
If you will be testedto determine if you are still contagious, you can leave home after these
three things have happened:
- You no longer have a fever (without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND
- other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness
of breath have improved) AND
- you received two negative tests in a row, 24 hours apart. Your doctor will
follow CDC guidelines.
In all cases,
follow the guidance of your healthcare provider and local health department. The decision to stop home isolation should be made in consultation with
your healthcare provider and state and local health departments. Local
decisions depend on local circumstances.
Source:
www.cdc.gov/COVID19
