How to self-quarantine and self-isolate

If you are not sick but are a close contact to someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or recently returned from any travel outside Massachusetts, please take these steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Self-quarantine: Separate yourself from others in case you get sick

1. Stay at home and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if possible.
2. Do your best to stay at least 6 feet away from other people in the house.
3. Do not leave your house to go to school, work or run errands.
4. Do not have any visitors to your house during this time.
5. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
6. Do not share eating or drinking utensils with anybody.
7. Monitor your health every day.
8. If you need to seek routine medical care call ahead to your doctor and tell them you are under COVID-19 quarantine.
9. Do not take public transportation, taxis or ride-shares to get to your appointment.

Monitor your health every day:

• Do health checks every morning and every night or anytime you feel like you might have a fever.
• Take your temperature.
• Be alert for any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough or shortness of breath.

If you have a medical emergency, call 911. Tell them your symptoms and that you are being monitored for COVID-19.

How to determine your last day of exposure:

Your last day of exposure is:

• The last time you were within 6 ft of someone confirmed to have COVID-19, or
• The day you arrived home after travel

If you do not show signs of COVID-19 for 14 days after the last time you were exposed, your self-quarantine period is finished.

If you get sick during self-quarantine, or are sick and a healthcare provider tests you for COVID-19, or are told by a healthcare provider that you have COVID-19, take these steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Self-isolation: Separate yourself from others to keep your germs from spreading

1. If you get sick with fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other signs of respiratory illness, call your healthcare provider and tell them if you have been exposed to COVID-19.
2. If you need see your healthcare provider, do not take public transportation, taxis, or ride-shares to get to your appointment.
3. Stay at home and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if possible.
4. Stay at least 6 feet away from other people in the house.
5. Do not leave your house to go to school, work or run errands.
6. Do not have any visitors to your house during this time.
7. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
8. Do not share eating or drinking utensils with anybody.
9. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
10. Clean surfaces that you touch every day with a household disinfectant.
11. Make a list of everyone you have been close to (within 6 feet of for at least 15 minutes), since you first got sick. Those people have been exposed to COVID-19 and should be asked to self-quarantine.

If you have a medical emergency, call 911. Tell them your symptoms and that you have, or may have, COVID-19.

How long do you need to isolate? 

For most people who have relatively mild illness, you will need to stay in self-isolation for at least 10 days. You can resume public activities once you have:

• gone for three days without a fever (and without taking fever-reducing medications like Tylenol), and
• experienced improvement in your other symptoms (for example, your cough has gotten much better). 

More information about how to self-isolate is available on the CDC website. View and download the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's self-quarantine poster here. 

If you have questions about isolation or quarantine, you can call your Local Board of Health or the Department of Public Health’s On-call Epidemiologists at 617-983-6800.

(Downloaded from https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#what-do-i-do-if-my-test-is-positive?- accessed July 4, 2020)