If you have symptoms of the coronavirus or were exposed, then you should tell everyone in your home that they should quarantine as well. Everyone would include family members or roommates, as the case may be. In all likelihood, if you have symptoms (as confirmed by your doctor), then you have had COVID-19 for anywhere from five to fourteen days. If this is the case, then you have been infecting pretty much most of your home. That means unless your family and roommates were wearing hazmat outfits the whole time, then they have likely been exposed to the coronavirus as well and need to quarantine.

The key to contact tracing is to quarantine anyone who has COVID-19, has symptoms of the disease, or was exposed, so they prevent further spreading of the virus. Until someone exposed is tested and either cleared or found to have the condition, then they need to stay away from everyone else. Please read the What to Say When Calling Contacts before telling your friends and family since it provides a few tips about how people may react and how to handle it.

Your family likely has the same doctor, so when you call the doctor to confirm your symptoms are consistent with the coronavirus, you should mention everyone currently living in your household. Your doctor will tell you if everyone should be tested for COVID-19 or remain quarantined for fourteen days to see if signs of the disease appear or they are fine. If you have roommates, then tell them to contact their doctors about being exposed to the virus to see what their doctors recommend as the next best action for them.

Take care and be safe!

Jeff

#Quarantining