Home  COVID-19  COVID-19 Possible or Confirmed Test

COVID-19 Possible or Confirmed Test

COVID-19 What To Do If You Are Sick
  • Stay home if you are sick
  • If you are older or have certain underlying medical conditions, it is helpful to let your health care provider know you are sick. They may have specific advice for you.
  • Seek medical care right away if your symptoms get worse or you have difficulty breathing. Before going to the doctor's office or emergency room, call ahead and tell them your symptoms. They will tell you what to do. Some people with COVID-19 have worsened during the second week of illness. 

What To Do if You have COVID-19? 
https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/case.pdf

When To Get Tested
  • If you have any symptoms, get tested for COVID-19. Talk to your health care provider if you want more information.
  • If you have been in a high-risk situation, get tested for COVID-19. High-risk situations include:
    • Knowing you were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. In general, being a close contact means you have spent 15 minutes or more within about 6 feet of a person who has COVID-19 throughout a 24-hour period.
      • If you were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, you need to stay home for 14 days (quarantine) even if you get a negative test result.
      • If you think you may have come into close contact with someone with COVID-19 but aren't sure, get tested.
    • Large group gatherings, especially with limited social distancing and/or few people wearing masks.
    • If you do not have symptoms, it is best to get tested at least 5 days after the last time you were close to the person with COVID-19. If you get tested too soon, the test may not be able to detect the virus. Talk to your health care provider to get more advice on when to get tested.               
For more information on COVID-19 testing, including testing locations, please visit the Minnesota Department of Health Here.


Possible Or Confirmed COVID-19 Test?
10Things

How Long To Stay Home If Sick
If you have COVID-19, you are considered to be in isolation. Isolation is when someone that is sick separates themselves from other individuals.
  • If you have COVID-19, stay home until all three of these things are true:
    • You feel better. Your cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms are better.
      and
    • It has been 10 days since you first felt sick.
      and
    • You have had no fever for at least 24 hours, without using medicine that lowers fevers.
  • Talk to your health care provider if you have questions.
  • If a lab test shows you have COVID-19, someone from the health department will give you more information and answer your questions.
  • If a lab test shows you do not have COVID-19 but you have symptoms, stay home until your symptoms are better and you do not have a fever. Symptoms of COVID-19 can be similar to other illnesses. It is important to follow your health care provider’s advice before going back to work, school, or other settings.
    • People who were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 need to stay home for 14 days even if they get a negative test result.
 Caring For Someone Who Is Sick
  • If someone in your household gets sick, do your best to keep them away from others in the house. Have one person take care of the person who is sick. Stay 6 feet away from the person who is sick as much as you can.
  • The person who is sick should wear a cloth face covering when anyone else is in the room, except when sleeping. The caregiver, and everyone else in the house, may want to wear cloth face coverings when they are in the same room with the person who is sick. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is not able to remove the covering without help.
  • The person who is sick should not make food or eat with others in the house.
  • If a sleeping room must be shared, open doors or windows sometimes to get fresh air inside. Sleep at least 6 feet apart, hang curtains or put cardboard walls around the person who is sick, and sleep head to toe.
  • If a bathroom must be shared, clean doorknobs, faucets, and other surfaces people touch a lot. Clean each time the person who is sick uses the bathroom.
  • Always wash your hands when touching surfaces and items in rooms the sick person also uses. Do not to touch your face with unwashed hands.
COVID-19 What To Do If You are Exposed
If you are identified as a close contact of someone that has COVID-19, you are considered to be in quarantine. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people that have been exposed to COVID-19. Because the incubation period for COVID-19 is 2 – 14 days, the safest option is to quarantine for 14 days starting day 1 as the day after your last contact with the infectious person.
  • In general, close contact means being less than 6 feet from someone for 15 minutes or more throughout a 24-hour period. However, even shorter periods of time or longer distances can result in spread of the virus. The longer someone is close to the person who has COVID-19, and the closer they are, the greater the chance the virus can spread.
  • If you have close contact with someone who has been told by a doctor, clinic or hospital that they have COVID-19:
  • Watch yourself for symptoms for 14 days.
  • Stay home.
  • Wash your hands often.
  • Clean surfaces you touch.
 
Updated Quarantine Guidance
 A 14-day quarantine remains the CDC’s recommendation for the greatest protection against spreading virus that causes COVID-19. However, CDC has reviewed data and modeled the impact of a number of options for shortening quarantine. The safest option is to stay home and away from others for 14 days. In certain situations, you may end your quarantine after 10 days, or after seven days with a negative COVID-19 test result.
 
You cannot end your quarantine before seven days for any reason. For additional information: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html