If your COVID test is positive or negative and you feel sick, like you have a cold, here's what you need to know:
1. Stay Home: If you're sick, especially with a cold-like illness, please stay home and away from others. This helps stop the sickness from spreading.
2. Treatment is Available: If you have COVID-19 or the flu, there are treatments that can help you feel better and prevent your illness from getting worse. Ask a doctor about your options. Learn More about treatment for COVID-19.
3. Wait to Return to Activities - You can go back to your usual activities when:
- You've been feeling better overall for at least 24 hours, and
- If you had a fever, it should be gone for 24 hours without taking any medicine to lower it.
- Medicines that reduce fever include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), Naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin.
4. Take Extra Precautions for Five Days: After you start feeling better, continue to be extra cautious for the next five days to protect others. This includes:
- Making sure the air in your space is clean.
- Washing your hands often and well.
- Wearing a mask that fits well.
- Keeping a safe distance from others.
- You might also consider getting tested for sicknesses like the flu or COVID-19.
This advice is especially important to protect people who get very sick easily, like people who are older than 65 or those with health conditions (weakened immune systems).
These tips are good for stopping lots of different sicknesses, not just COVID-19. Following these steps can help keep everyone safer.
