Inform Your Close Contacts
Call your contacts and tell them you are sick. By sharing your information with others, you can slow the spread of illness.
Sample text: “Hi. I am sick with symptoms of COVID-19 (the coronavirus infection). I’m calling you because when we met you may have been exposed. Most people who get sick are able to recover at home. The Health Department recommends that you do the following:”
- Stay home for 14 days since you last interacted with the ill individual. Avoid contact with others, do not share personal items, and use a separate bedroom and bathroom, if possible.
- Monitor for symptoms. Take your temperature with a thermometer two times a day and watch for fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher) or cough. Seek medical attention immediately if you develop trouble breathing, pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, or bluish lips or face. Call ahead.
- Wear a facemask (or a bandana or scarf that covers your nose and mouth) when around other people.
- Keep your distance from others (at least 6 feet).
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of your elbow.
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
- Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces everyday.
- If you become sick, stay home and keep your distance from others.
- Inform others if you become sick. Talk to everyone who has been within 6 feet for more than a few minutes while you were sick, including the 48 hours BEFORE you developed symptoms. Tell them to stay home for 14 days. If you get sick, call your doctor or healthcare provider and let them know you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 and now are ill.
