Prevention

CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
  • CDC does NOT recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
  • Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a healthcare facility)
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
  • If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
• For information about handwashing, see CDC’s Handwashing website CDC’s Handwashing
• CDC does have specific guidance for travelers

Seek Healthcare Professional Help

Call your healthcare professional immediately if you develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing, and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19. Tell your healthcare provider about your recent travel or contact. Your healthcare provider will work with your state’s public health department and CDC to determine if you need to be tested for COVID-19.
Steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 if you are sick:

• Stay home except to get medical care
• Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home
• Call ahead before visiting your doctor
• Wear a facemask
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
• Clean your hands often
• Avoid sharing personal household items
• Clean all “high-touch” surfaces every day
• Monitor your symptoms

Symptoms

Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness for confirmed COVID-19 cases. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure*:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

How does it spread?

Current understanding about how the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads is largely based on what is known about similar coronaviruses.

Person-to-person spread

The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

Spread from contact with infected surfaces or objects

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Can someone spread the virus without being sick?

• People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest).
• Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.