FAQ - Isolation and Exposure
ESPAÑOL

Solano Public Health aligns with isolation and quarantine guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Guidance was last updated on August 21, 2023.

CDPH Guidance on Isolation and Quarantine (8/29/2023)

CDC Isolation and Quarantine Period for General Population (5/11/2023)

CDC Guidance for Congregate Shelters (5/11/2023)

What to do if you have been exposed to COVID-19

What if I develop symptoms of COVID-19? 

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

If symptoms develop, consult your healthcare provider and schedule for testing. While waiting for test results, follow self-isolation guidance above.

If the infected or exposed person is going to a medical office, emergency room, or urgent care center, the facility should be notified ahead of time that the person is infected with or has been exposed to COVID-19; the person should wear a mask for the clinical visit. 

Any one of the following emergency warning signs signal a need to call 911 and get medical attention immediately:

  • Trouble breathing.
  • Bluish or grayish lips, face, or nails.
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.
  • New confusion or inability to arouse.
  • New numbness or tingling in the extremities.
  • Other serious symptoms

How do I know if I have been exposed to COVID-19?

You can get exposed when you come into direct contact with the secretions (droplets) of someone who has COVID-19 (being coughed on or sneezed on, etc.). People often get exposed by a household member or through close contact with another person. Close contact means that you have been less than 6 feet with someone with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes, with one or both individuals do not wearing a face covering.

I had close contact with someone who has COVID-19. What do I do?

"Close Contact" means the following:

In indoor spaces of 400,000 or fewer cubic feet per floor (such as homes, clinic waiting rooms, airplanes, etc.), close contact is defined as sharing the same indoor airspace for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period(Example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during an infected person's (confirmed by COVID-19 test or clinical diagnosis) infectious period.

In large indoor spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor (such as open-floor-plan offices, warehouses, large retail stores, manufacturing, or food processing facilities), close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the infected person's infectious period.

Spaces that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls (e.g., offices, suites, rooms, waiting areas, bathrooms, or break or eating areas that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls) must be considered distinct indoor airspaces.Consider testing during the 3–5 day window following exposure to best determine infection status and follow all isolation recommendations above if positive. Knowing one is infected early enables an earlier access to treatment options (especially for those who may be at risk for severe illness).

  • If you work at a high-risk congregate setting (skilled nursing facility, long-term care facility, memory care or assisted living), let your workplace know so they can notify the Solano Public Health Epidemiology Team and the facility can take appropriate action.
  • If you work at another type of workplace setting:
    • You do not need to stay home or quarantine if you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, regardless of your vaccination status, as long as you do not have symptoms. However, if you are employed, you must follow your workplace policy on when you can return to work. Workplaces are following the Cal/OSHA guidance, in alignment with CDPH. For that guidance, click here. .
    • Wear a mask around others for at least 10 days.
    • If you develop symptoms, stay home and get tested.

*Antigen test recommended.
An antigen test (including over-the-counter tests), nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), or LAMP test are acceptable; however, antigen testing is recommended for infected persons to end isolation, and for symptomatic exposed persons who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 within the prior 90 days 

What should you do after testing positive for COVID-19?

I tested positive for COVID-19. What do I do?

If you test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, whether you do or do not have symptoms, or had previous infection should isolate and follow CDC recommendations for isolation. Isolate for at least 5 days from when your symptoms first started (or after the date of first positive test, if no symptoms). Isolation can end after day 5 if symptoms are not present or are resolving and a diagnostic on Day 5 or later tests result negative. If you have fever, continue to stay home until fever-free for 24 hours without taking any anti-fever medication. Wear a well-fitting mask for another 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

If unable to test, choosing not to test, or testing positive on Day 5 (or later), isolation can end after Day 10 if fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
Isolation should be continued until 24 hours after fever resolves.

If symptoms, other than fever, are not resolving, continue to isolate until symptoms are resolving or until after Day 10. If symptoms are severe, or if the infected person is at high risk of serious disease, or if they have questions concerning care, infected persons should contact their healthcare provider for available treatments.

 Per CDPH masking guidance, infected persons should wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings

  • Stay home except to get medical care. Do not visit public areas.
  • Avoid sharing rooms/spaces with others; if not possible, open windows to outdoor air (if safe to do so) to improve ventilation or use portable air cleaners and exhaust fans.
  • Separate yourself from others in your home. Do not have any visitors.
    •         If possible, stay in a specific room and away from people at home. 
    •         Use your own plate, bowl and utensils - do not share food or any of these items to anyone. If that is not possible, clean and disinfect after use.
    •         If possible, use a separate bathroom to prevent spread to others in their homes and communities. If that is not possible, clean and disinfect touched surfaces after every use.
  • Wear a mask over your nose and mouth in indoor settings, including at home if other people are present, or you are around those who are immunocompromised, unvaccinated, booster eligible but have not yet received their booster dose, or are at risk for severe disease.
  • If a sleeping area is shared with someone who is sick, consider the following recommendations:
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or if you can't wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  • Clean or disinfect "high-touch" surfaces routinely (at least once daily). 

When can I safely end home isolation?

  • Remain in isolation while waiting for testing results. If not tested, you should continue isolating for 10 days after the day of symptom, and should wear a well-fitting mask.
  • For the purposes of identifying close contacts and exposures, symptomatic and asymptomatic infected persons who test negative on or after Day 5 can end isolation in accordance with this guidance and are no longer considered to be within their infectious period. Such persons should continue to follow CDPH isolation recommendations, including wearing a well-fitting face mask through Day 10
  • Continue to self-isolate if test result is positive, follow recommended actions above (I tested positive for COVID-19. What do I do?), and contact healthcare provider about available treatments if symptoms are severe or you are at high risk for serious disease or if you have any questions concerning your health.
  • If you do not have severely immunocompromised conditions ** and have mild to moderate illness, stay home for at least 5 days from when your symptoms first started. You can end home isolation after 5 days as long as you no longer have symptoms (or your symptoms are resolving) AND you have had no fever for at least 24 hours without taking a fever-reducing medication AND you wear a mask around others for an additional 5 days. Do not leave your house and end your isolation if you still have a fever.
  • If you are severely* or critically ill* or have conditions that severely compromise their immune system**, you are considered contagious for 20 days after symptoms first appeared and 24 hours have passed since you had a fever without taking a fever-reducing medication (for those with no symptoms, 20 days after being swabbed or tested).
  • Note:
    * Severe illness – individuals with respiratory frequency >30 breaths/min, saturation of oxygen (SpO2)<94% on room air at sea level (or, for patients with chronic hypoxemia, a decrease from baseline of >3%), ratio of arterial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2)<300mmHG, of lung infiltrates >50%.
    * Critical illness – individuals with respiratory failure, septic shock and/or multiple organ dysfunction.
    ** Severely immunocompromised – individuals who are on chemotherapy for cancer, have untreated HIV infection with CD4 T lymphocyte count <200, have combined primary immunodeficiency disorder or are on prednisone>20mg/day for more than 14 days. Ultimately, the degree of
    immunocompromise for the patient is determined by the treating provider.

I have completed my isolation and am ready to return to work, but my company is asking for negative test results. What do I do?

  • Solano Public Health does not recommend retesting to discontinue isolation. In many situations, remnants of the virus remain in the body for up to 90 days, and can cause a positive test result.
  • For those who do not have severely immunocompromised conditions** and have mild to moderate illness, you can return to work 5 days after your symptoms first appeared AND your symptoms have resolved (or are resolving) AND you have had no fever for at least 24 hours without taking any anti-fever reducing medication AND you continue to wear a well-fitting mask for an additional 5 days. For those with no symptoms, you can return to work 5 days after being swabbed or tested AND you continue to wear a well-fitting mask for an additional 5 days.
  • For those who are severely ill* or critically ill* or have conditions that severely compromise their immune system*, you are considered contagious for 20 days after their symptoms first appeared and 24 hours have passed had a fever without them taking a fever-reducing medication (for those with no symptoms, 20 days after they were swabbed or tested).

Note:
* Severe illness – individuals with respiratory frequency >30 breaths/min, saturation of oxygen (SpO2)<94% on room air at sea level (or, for patients with chronic hypoxemia, a decrease from baseline of >3%), ratio of arterial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2)<300mmHG, of lung infiltrates >50%.
* Critical illness – individuals with respiratory failure, septic shock and/or multiple organ dysfunction.
** Severely immunocompromised – individuals who are on chemotherapy for cancer, have untreated HIV infection with CD4 T lymphocyte count <200, have combined primary immunodeficiency disorder or are on prednisone>20mg/day for more than 14 days. Ultimately, the degree of immunocompromise for the patient is determined by the treating provider.

Treatment of COVID-19
The emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the new oral antiviral medications Molnupiravir and Paxlovid supplement current therapeutic efforts to decrease hospitalizations and prevent severe COVID-19 and death. Pfizer's Paxlovid and Merck's Molnupiravir are both oral antiviral pills that can be taken at home to keep patients out of the hospital. Both are available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. For more information on antivirals, and pharmacies in Solano County that have antivirals, click the link here.

Long COVID-19
For some people, COVID-19 symptoms can last anywhere from four weeks to six months after testing positive for the virus. These post-COVID conditions, also known as long COVID, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, long term effects of COVID, or chronic COVID. Below are resources for anyone experiencing long COVID.

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Resources

Updated 9/27/2023