WHAT IS CORONAVIRUS?
Coronavirus is a family of viruses causing respiratory illnesses including but not limited to common cold or more severe conditions.
WHAT IS SARS-COV-2?
SARS-CoV-2 is a strain of coronavirus. It’s a Novel Corona Virus discovered in 2019 that originated in China. SARS stand for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SARS-COV-2 AND COVID-19?
SARS-CoV-2 is a name of a virus strain while COVID-19 is a name of a disease.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID?
Symptoms of COVID includes:
• Fever
• Cough, usually dry
• Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing
• Fatigue and tiredness
• Loss of taste
• Abdominal Pain
• Diarrhea If untreated, it can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure, kidney failure, and death.
HOW DOES CORONAVIRUS INFECTION SPREAD?
Coronavirus infection transmits from animals to humans and then spreads between people. The transmission occurs through air droplets when a contagious person sneezes, coughs or sings and a normal individual gets exposed to these secretions in droplet form that enters their body through mouth or nose. What does “Exposure” mean? An individual is considered exposed if they were within 6 feet of someone who has tested positive for COVID for a total of 15 minutes in 24 hour period or has unprotected contact with or had been sneezed or coughed upon someone with COVID.
HOW DO I PREVENT MYSELF FROM GETTING COVID?
You can take the following measures to avoid getting infected:
- Stay 6 feet away from others
- Wear a mask over the nose and mouth
- Wash hands often
- Disinfect high touch areas
- Cover your sneeze and cough
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE?
Isolation separates people who tested positive for the virus and has COVID therefore needs to be in seclusion so as not to infect others. Quarantine separates people who do not have COVID but were exposed to someone with an illness and therefore have a higher chance of getting sick and hence need to be secluded to see if they get sick.
HOW LONG SHOULD I QUARANTINE IF MY VIRAL PCR TEST IS POSITIVE?
CDC guidelines dictate that quarantine should be 10 days and even 20 days if there was high-risk exposure or if you are immunocompromised.
IF DURING QUARANTINE, I BEGIN SYMPTOMS, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
If you begin respiratory symptoms or fever during quarantine, you should begin self-isolation for 10-14 days starting from the onset of symptoms.
WHEN DO I DISCONTINUE SELF-ISOLATION?
Self-isolation can be discontinued when the following criteria are met:
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and
• At least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
• Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved.
• For patients with severe illness or who are immunocompromised, up to 20 days of self-isolation from the onset of illness is recommended.
WHEN DO I GET TESTED AGAIN IF I AM TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID?
You do not need to get tested for 90 days if you were tested PCR positive or had COVID. This is because data suggest that for at least 3 months after infection, you develop immunity and a short term risk of re-infection is low.
IF I TEST POSITIVE FOR ANTIBODIES, DO I HAVE COMPLETE IMMUNITY?
Some research shows that you may have partial immunity to COVID if you test positive for antibodies after you get COVID however how long it lasts or if it does provide complete immunity is not clearly known at this time.
DO I NEED TO QUARANTINE IF I TEST POSITIVE FOR ANTIBODIES?
A positive antibody result means that you have been exposed to COVID-19 in either the distant or recent past. You do not need to quarantine if you test positive for antibodies.
HOW CAN I TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLU AND COVID?
COVID-19 and influenza viruses have a similar presentation. They both can cause mild respiratory illness to a severe one. However, COVID may present with other signs and symptoms that are not present in influenza-like loss of taste or smell.
