Suburban
If you are caring for someone with COVID-19 at home or in a non-healthcare setting, follow this advice to protect yourself and others. Learn what to do when someone has symptoms of COVID-19 or when someone has been diagnosed with the virus. This information also should be followed when caring for people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms.
Help the person who is sick follow their doctor’s instructions for care and medicine.
For most people, symptoms last a few days, and people usually feel better after a week.
See if over-the-counter medicines for fever help the person feel better.
Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests.
Help them with grocery shopping, filling prescriptions, and getting other items they may need. Consider having the items delivered through a delivery service, if possible.
Take care of their pet(s), and limit contact between the person who is sick and their pet(s) when possible.
Watch for warning signs
Have their doctor’s phone number on hand.
Call their doctor if the person keeps getting sicker. For medical emergencies, call 911 and tell the dispatcher that the person has or might have COVID-19.
When to seek emergency medical attention
Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:
Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to wake or stay awake
Bluish lips or face
This list is not all possible symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.
Limit Contact
COVID-19 spreads between people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets, created when someone talks, coughs or sneezes. Staying away from others helps stop the spread of COVID-19.
The caregiver, when possible, should not be someone who is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
The person who is sick should isolate
The sick person should separate themselves from others in the home. Learn when and how to isolate.
If possible, have the person who is sick use a separate bedroom and bathroom. If possible, have the person who is sick stay in their own “sick room” or area and away from others. Try to stay at least 6 feet away from the sick person.
Shared space: If you have to share space, make sure the room has good air flow.
Open the window to increase air circulation.
Improving ventilation helps remove respiratory droplets from the air.
Avoid having visitors. Avoid having any unnecessary visitors, especially visits by people who are at higher risk for severe illness.
Caregivers should
quarantine
Caregivers and anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should stay home.
Eat in separate rooms or areas
Stay separated: The person who is sick should eat (or be fed) in their room, if possible.
Wash dishes and utensils using gloves and hot water: Handle any dishes, cups/glasses, or silverware used by the person who is sick with gloves. Wash them with soap and hot water or in a dishwasher.
Clean hands after taking off gloves or handling used items.
Avoid sharing personal items
Do not share dishes, cups/glasses, silverware, towels, bedding, or electronics (like a cell phone) with the person who is sick.
When to wear a mask or gloves
The person who is sick should wear a mask when they are around other people at home and out (including before they enter a doctor’s office).
The mask helps prevent a person who is sick from spreading the virus to others. It keeps respiratory droplets contained and from reaching other people.
Masks should not be placed on young children under two years, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is not able to remove the covering without help.
Caregiver
Put on a mask and ask the sick person to put on a mask before entering the room.
Wear gloves when you touch or have contact with the sick person’s blood, stool, or body fluids, such as saliva, mucus, vomit, and urine. Throw out gloves into a lined trash can and wash your hands right away.
Practice everyday preventive actions to keep from getting sick: wash your hands often; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; and frequently clean and disinfect surfaces.
Clean your hands often
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Tell everyone in the home to do the same, especially after being near the person who is sick.
If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Clean and disinfect
Clean and disinfect “high-touch” surfaces and items every day: This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks, and electronics.
Clean the area or item with soap and water if it is dirty. Then, use a household disinfectant.
Bedroom and bathroom
If you are using a separate bedroom and bathroom: Only clean the area around the person who is sick when needed, such as when the area is soiled. This will help limit your contact with the sick person.
If they feel up to it, the person who is sick can clean their own space. Give the person who is sick personal cleaning and disinfection supplies such as tissues and paper towels.
Laundry
Do not shake dirty laundry.
Wear disposable gloves while handling dirty laundry.
Dirty laundry from a sick person can be washed with other people’s items.
Handling trash
Place used disposable gloves and other contaminated items in a lined trash can.
Use gloves when removing garbage bags, and handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands afterwards.
Place all used disposable gloves, masks, and other contaminated items in a lined trash can.
If possible, dedicate a lined trash can for the sick person.
Track your own health
Caregivers should stay home and monitor their health for COVID-19 symptoms while caring for the person who is sick.
Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath but other symptoms may be present as well.
Trouble breathing is a more serious warning sign that you need medical attention.
Caregivers should continue to stay home after care is complete and can leave home 14 days after their last close contact with the sick person. — CDC
