Key points for patients
Anyone getting COVID-19 testing must stay home until you hear about test results. That includes people without symptoms.
If your test is positive:
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Stay home for 10 days AND at least a full day has passed since your fever is gone and your symptoms got better.
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Your local health department will call you to make sure you have what you need to stay home. They will also do contact tracing. That means they will ask about people you have had close contact with during the time you were able to spread the virus.
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Have a plan for what to do if you feel worse.
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Here is a guide to home care and ways to keep the virus from spreading in households.
If your test is negative:
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If you are a close contact to someone who has the virus you must still stay home for 14 days since your last contact.
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If you are a close contact to someone who has the virus and you have symptoms, stay home for 10 days AND at least a full day has passed since your fever is gone and your symptoms got better.
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If you have not had close contact with someone who has the virus and you have symptoms, stay home until 24 hours after you are better.
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Otherwise, continue limiting the number of people you have close contact with; remember physical distancing and use face coverings.
Key points for clinicians
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Prioritize testing for people who are symptomatic or known close contacts to COVID positive individuals.
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Testing close contacts soon after their exposure helps identify the next round of contacts and slow transmission.
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Contacts who test negative must still stay home for 14 days since their last exposure as test conversion may take more than 10 days.
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An “indeterminate” or “inconclusive” test result should be considered positive.
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Use clinical judgement to decide if an indeterminate test should be repeated in order to clarify the patient’s status . Repeat tests should be performed as soon as possible in order to avoid delays in public health follow-up of contacts.
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An “unsatisfactory” result is related to the quality of the specimen and should NOT be considered positive. The specimen should be re-collected if there was a strong clinical reason for it to be collected initially.
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Close contacts to known cases who develop compatible symptoms are considered presumptive cases regardless of test results (positive or negative).
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Create a plan with patients who are positive for what to do if they get worse.
All patients need clear guidance about the need to isolate while waiting for test results. Exceptions include asymptomatic individuals with no known contact who are tested as part of routine community screening or long-term care facility surveillance screening.
If patient is positive for COVID-19 and symptomatic
A patient can resume contact with others when:
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They have no fever for 24 hours without the use of medicine, AND
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Other symptoms improve, AND
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At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
If patient is positive for COVID-19 and asymptomatic
A patient can resume contact with others when:
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10 days have passed since their test, and they continue to remain asymptomatic.
In addition, other members of their household should stay home for the duration of the patient’s isolation and for an additional 14 days after the ill person is no longer infectious. If the patient is able to completely isolate from other household members (no contact, no shared spaces), household members should stay home for 14 days after the patient began isolating (contact is broken).
As always thank you for your partnership,
Christina Baumann, MD, MPH, Washington County Health Officer
Ann M Loeffler, MD, Multnomah County Deputy Health Officer
Sarah Present, MD, MPH, Clackamas County Health Officer
Jennifer Vines, MD, MPH, Multnomah County Health Officer
