More than 12,000 tri-county residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the first cases were reported in March.
As the local area continues to see cases increase, the Department of Health in Marion County is sharing key things someone who is newly diagnosed with COVID-19 should know in the days and weeks after their diagnosis.
Isolating at home
- Stay in one room, away from others in your household, including pets.
- Have sole use of a bathroom.
- Wear a cloth face covering.
- Don’t share personal household items like cups, utensils and towels.
At-home care
- Keep track of any symptoms and check your temperature twice daily.
- Watch for common symptoms: 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 or vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Be alert for severe symptoms: trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.
- Call your doctor or health care provider if your symptoms get worse.
- Ask your doctor or health care provider about pain and fever medication.
- Get rest and stay hydrated.
Visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html for more information.
If you test positive, public health staff will monitor you and your contacts. This is called contact tracing, and it’s a core public health function that helps stop the spread of the disease.
Timeline for stopping self-isolation
- If you tested positive with symptoms, at least 10 days must pass since your symptoms first appeared and at least 24 hours must pass since you’ve had a fever without using fever-reducing medications, and other symptoms have improved.
- If you tested positive without symptoms, at least 10 days must pass since the day you were tested, and you have no symptoms.
