When Someone in Your Home is Sick, Positive, or Exposed During a Pandemic
July 20, 2020
As the number of infected people continue to surge, parents are asking what to do after being exposed to a COVID-19+ individual.
At this time, we have no cure and no vaccine. Until that changes, one way to be able to stop the virus from ravaging communities is to “identify and isolate.” This medieval-level infection control method relies on identifying the sick and getting them away from everyone else.
The success of “identify and isolate” hinges on our understanding of isolation versus self-quarantine. Let’s keep these two terms clear and distinct. Isolation is taking action to separate the sick from the non-sick. Self-quarantine is restricting the movement of at-risk individuals to minimize unintended spread of the virus.
When it comes to COVID-19, following the instructions to isolate or to self-quarantine are foundational to the effectiveness of “identify and isolate.” Our actions and sacrificial choices in these moments are literally holding the virus at bay. In my opinion, choosing to not adhere to the isolation or self-quarantine protocol is accepting your role and responsibility in spreading a potentially lethal virus to a member of our community. In turn, parents who knowingly allow teens/young adults living in their home to violate isolation or self-quarantine instructions are complicit.
Self-quarantine limits the movement of a potentially infected person in order to prevent unintentional spread of the virus.
A person can become ill with COVID-19 as many as 14 days after close contact with an infected individual. Close contact means being less than 6 feet away for greater than 15 minutes.
If you believe you or a family member has been exposed to a sick or positive person, begin self-quarantine immediately and call your doctor’s office for additional advice.
Self-quarantine means to stay inside of your home. Like, really stay in your house. No groceries. No parks. No playdates. No visitors. No in-person work meetings. No drive-in movies. No swimming pools. No organized sports. Outside exercise is okay if you are able to keep 6 (10?) feet of distance from anyone else. Meanwhile, keep 6 feet of distance from other members of your household within the house, as able. If unable to keep 6 feet from other household members, wear a mask.
Wash hands and keep high-touch areas routinely cleaned within the house. No sharing of eating or drinking utensils. Essential (illness-related with disclosure to the medical staff) trips to the doctor or pharmacy are allowed, but should be limited. Wellness visits to the pediatrician should be re-scheduled until after the self-quarantine period. Self-quarantine is not easy and requires a willingness to sacrifice, but it is the best way to be aware of the onset of any symptoms and begin quick isolation, if needed.
If you know you have been exposed, you need to self-quarantine for 14 days regardless of any testing results.
A negative test DOES NOT mean you can end your quarantine. It simply means you were negative at the exact moment you were tested. Remember, you can test positive on any of the 14 days after being exposed. One negative test does NOT mean you will not become ill or cannot spread the virus. Stay home for the quarantine duration.
If you do get tested after an exposure, waiting five or more days after the exposure event (while self-quarantining) before getting tested seems to be yield more accurate results.. At any point after exposure, however, a positive test result means you have COVID-19. You now move into isolation while the rest of the family and direct contacts begin self-quarantine.
Isolation must occur after an individual develops symptoms of the illness or tests positive for the illness.
If you are sick with any symptoms of COVID-19 or your test returns positive, immediately isolate yourself from the rest of your household. Isolate for a minimum of 10 days from symptom onset/day sample was collected AND until fever-free for 24 hours without medications AND symptoms have improved.
Caring for someone sick? Plan to be at home for at least 24 days.
If someone in your household is sick/positive and isolating, the rest of the family needs to self-quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the ill or positive person. More specifically, if the person is unable to isolate due to age or severity of illness, direct contacts self-quarantine while the person is sick AND for 14 additional days after illness. Yes, that is a minimum 24 days in total. Yikes.
Isolation is tough. It’s against our nurturing instinct and will be very difficult for many. However, the hard work of isolation, when appropriate, does allow household members to return to work and school more quickly.
If you choose to isolate, it means living in a bedroom with a closed door and having a bathroom dedicated for your use. Supplies and meals should be delivered by the other members of your household while being masked. If over the age of 2 years, wear a mask as much as possible while you are in isolation. Check-ins should be virtual and pets need to stay out. Practically speaking, isolation is only possible for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic teenagers/adults. Children who need physical and mental support from a parent during an illness (read: all of them) will need to be isolated with a caregiver.
If you have no symptoms of COVID-19, but test positive, you need to isolate for 10 days from the day your testing sample was collected.
Here are some situational examples:
With every new exposure, the calendar starts over.
For a person who can isolate within the home, the ill/positive person begins day 1 of 10 in isolation and the rest of the family can begin to self-quarantine for 14 days, as long as the rest of the household has no close contact with the ill/infected person throughout that 14-day period.
For a sick/positive child who needs care and is in contact with a caregiver, the caregiver’s self-quarantine begins on the last day of contact. That means, you guessed it, caring for a positive child for a minimum 10 days, then beginning a 14-day self-quarantine on day #11-24. That’s right, almost a MONTH. That’s a lot of days.
Anytime a NEW family member gets sick? The calendar starts over on day one for ill people and household members.
For a person who has been contacted by a contact tracer, or if you know that you have been within 6 feet of an infected individual for greater than 15 minutes, you need to begin self-quarantine for 14 days.
If you are tested, you should self-quarantine until the test results return. Discuss the results with the ordering physician for next steps. If you develop symptoms while waiting for the test to return, begin isolation for a minimum of 10 days from symptom onset, regardless of your test results. A negative test does NOT necessarily shorten self-quarantine days, nor does it “guarantee” you will not become ill from the virus.
Keep in mind, even with best practices, this virus spreads very easily between household members. Most often, it has spread to another individual during the pre-symptomatic period, well before the infected person begins to feel ill. Do not get discouraged if another family member becomes ill. Silent spreading is how viruses do their nasty work and even the most diligent can become infected.
Until our international team of smart scientists discover a cure or vaccine, self-quarantine and isolation are two of the best ways to “box the virus in” and keep our community levels low. When our community levels are low, our businesses can remain open and kids can go to school. Most importantly, however, this strategy is one way our community members can stay alive and well. Please reach out to your child’s doctor with any questions or worries.
Mask up KC. Keep your distance. Wash your hands. Stay smart. Stay well. Stay safe.
