COVID-19 Patients and Contacts
COVID-19 Treatments:
If you test positive for COVID-19, treatment may be available. Contact your healthcare provider or call the Contra Costa County Health Advice Nurse at 877-661-6230 right away to talk about treatment, or visit a test-to-treat location. Don’t delay, even if your symptoms are mild right now – treatment must be started within the first few days to be effective. Click here to learn more.
These guidelines are for the general public, including K-12 students and staff. Healthcare workers should follow their own isolation and quarantine guidance.
If you test positive for COVID-19:
Self-Isolation Instructions for Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
People with a positive COVID-19 test result need to isolate:
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Stay home for at least 5 days
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If you do not have symptoms, your symptoms are mild and improving and you are fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine: isolation can end after day 5
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If you have a fever: isolation should be continued until 24 hours after fever resolves
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If you have symptoms (other than a fever) that are not improving: continue to isolate until your symptoms are improving or until after day 10
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If you have severe symptoms, are at high risk of serious disease or have questions concerning care: Contact your healthcare provider for available treatments
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Wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days, especially indoors
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You can stop wearing a mask before day 10 if you have two negative tests taken at least one day apart
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Quarantine or isolation:
What's the difference?
What is a "close contact"?
A close contact is anyone who has shared the same indoor airspace (at home, in a clinic waiting room, on an airplane etc.) with an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
If you have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19:
For the General Public
If You Don't Have Symptoms
You do not need to quarantine at home, but you should:
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Take a test 3-5 days after you were exposed
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If you tested positive within the last 31-90 days, you should still take a test, even if you don’t have symptoms. Using an antigen (home) test is recommended because PCR tests can detect noninfectious viral fragments for up to 90 days.
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Wear a mask when around others for 10 days
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Stay home and isolate for up to 10 days if symptoms develop or you test positive
If You Have Symptoms
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Isolate at home and get tested as soon as possible to determine infection status
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If you tested positive within the last 31-90 days, you should still take a test if you have symptoms. Using an antigen (home) test is recommended because PCR tests can detect noninfectious viral fragments for up to 90 days.
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Stay in isolation while waiting for test results
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Consider continuing self-isolation and retesting in 1-2 days if you test negative with an antigen (home) test, particularly if you tested negative during the first 1-2 days of symptoms
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If you test positive, continue isolating at home for up to 10 days
People who tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 30 days do not need to get tested or stay home (quarantine) unless they start to feel sick. Using an antigen (home) test is recommended because PCR tests can detect noninfectious viral fragments for up to 90 days.
If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and are more likely to become infected due to being unvaccinated or immunocompromised consider quarantining or limiting your exposure to others, especially people who are at high risk for severe COVID-19.
Click the links below for quarantine instructions:
