COVID-19 Guidance: Know the Facts

What is ISOLATION?

At least 10 days of staying home
and away from others
WHEN YOU’RE POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

• Stay home except for medical care.
• Isolate yourself from others in your household if possible (it impacts their quarantine time)
• Notify your healthcare provider ASAP (they don’t always received test results).
• Let your employer or school know you have COVID-19.
• You may not get a call from the health department, so fill out the Saginaw County Health Department self-reporting form
• Notify close contacts so they can start to quarantine themselves.
• Only resume normal activities when the following have happened:
  • 10 days have passed since symptoms start or when you got tested if asymptomatic
  • Fever free for 24 hours
  • Symptoms improve

What is QUARANTINE?

Staying home and away
from others for 14 days
AFTER EXPOSURE TO COVID-19

• Determine when you last came into close contact (within 6 feet for 15 minutes) with COVID+ person when they were contagious (anywhere from 48 hours before their symptoms developed or their test came back positive through their isolation period)
• Quarantine 14 days since that last contact.
• If the contact is with someone in your household who hasn’t isolated from you, your quarantine will be 24 days – the 10 days of their isolation and the following 14 days.
• Monitor yourself for symptoms and consider testing.
• DO NOT use a negative test result to get out of quarantine.
• Stay home through the 14th day to make sure you don’t develop COVID-19 at any time during its incubation period and spread it to others.

Scenario 1: Close Contact and Quarantine

Sasha’s partner gets sick on Monday and isolates in a separate room. Sasha feels well, but she was in close contact with her partner until Monday so she needs to quarantine for 14 days.

Sasha never has symptoms. Quarantine ends after day 14.

Scenario 2: Isolation with Lingering Symptoms

Alberto gets sick on Wednesday and has a fever and cough for ten days. He cannot end isolation until it’s been ten days and he’s fever-free for 24 hours.

Aleberto isolates the ten days plus one extra day.

Scenario 3: Isolation with Brief Illness

Bill gets sick on Thursday. He feels better and his fever ends on Monday. Even though he seems well earlier, he still must isolate for a full ten days since his symptoms started.

Bill’s isolation ends after ten days.

Scenario 4: Asymptomatic Case

Amy’s co-worker tested positive for COVID-19. Amy began to quarantine and decided to get tested after 5 days even
though she never felt sick. Her test comes back positive. The positive test starts isolation since Amy is asymptomatic.

The positive test result starts isolation since Amy is asymptomatic.

Scenario 5: Household Quarantine and Isolation

Tom’s son, Jake, was exposed at school. Jake quarantines for 4 days and gets sick. Now, Jake isolates and Tom quarantines. Tom cares for Jake. He is exposed until Jake’s isolation ends.

Tom’s quarantine starts as soon as Jake gets sick, but the 14 day count starts after Tom’s last exposure to Jake.