COVID-19 – what to do when you are sick

Even if you have been vaccinated, you should stay at home and away from others inside and outside your home if you have symptoms of COVID-19, with or without a positive test.

These are important steps you can take to help prevent spreading COVID-19.

Once you start to feel better, you can go back to your normal activities if BOTH of the following things are true:

Even though you feel better, you may still be able to spread the virus to others for several days. For this reason, once you go back to your normal activities, protect others from illness by continuing to take these steps for 5 days:

You should also practice these steps for 5 days if you tested positive for COVID-19, but did not have any symptoms. Even though you have no symptoms, you can still spread the virus to others. Doing so will protect people at risk for serious illness, such as people who are immunocompromised.

If your fever returns after resuming normal activities, you should go back to staying home and away from others. Once your fever and symptoms improve for more than 24 hours, you can resume activities while taking steps to protect others for 5 more days.

You should contact your provider:

Call 911 or the local emergency number if you have:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Preventing the spread of respiratory viruses when you're sick. www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html. Updated February 29, 2024. Accessed March 10, 2024.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Respiratory virus guidance. www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/. Updated March 1, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024.



Review Date: 2/22/2023
Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Editorial update 03/12/2024.
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