You are at a higher risk of getting sick if you are:
- Living with or providing care for someone with COVID-19
- Within 6 feet (2 meters) of someone with COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. This includes individual exposures added together over a 24-hour period (ex: three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes)
- In direct contact with secretions from a person with COVID-19 starting from 2 days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic patients, 2 days before test specimen collection (ex: being coughed or sneezed on, kissing, sharing utensils, etc)
Traveling internationally, on a cruise or riverboat, or to a US area where COVID-19 is known to be circulating widely in the community
Adults aged 65 and older are at a greater risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Older adults are encouraged to limit interactions with others and take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when you do interact with others.
If you think you have been exposed, please do the following:
Self- quarantine for 14 days from the time of your exposure. Do not go to work, school, ride shares, or ride public transportation. Stay home and avoid contact with others.
Watch yourself for a developing fever by taking your temperature in the morning and in the evening.
Monitor your health; watch for signs of a cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, chills, muscle pain or sore throat.
You can download VDH’s Daily Symptom Monitoring Log to help keep track of your symptoms.
Call your doctor if you begin to feel sick.
Find out more about how to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19 if you've recently traveled.
Residents in nursing or long-term care facilities are at a greater risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
Critical measures have been put in place by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to keep nursing home residents safe from the virus that causes COVID-19.
Learn how to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities.
If you have any of the following underlying health conditions or compromised immune system, you might be at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19:
Chronic lung disease
Serious heart condition
Impaired immune system
Receiving cancer treatment
Diabetes
Severe obesity
Renal failure
Pregnancy
Smoker or use of e-cigs/vapes
To protect yourself from getting sick, take the following precautions:
•Stay home
•Wash your hands often
•Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•Avoid all cruise and non-essential air travel
•Wear a mask in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain
•Call your healthcare professional if you have concerns about COVID-19 and your underlying condition or if you are sick