How can you help prevent getting the virus?
Stay at least 6 feet away from others. Stay at home as much as possible.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your coughs and sneezes with your sleeve or 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. Do not flush wipes.
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.
What are the symptoms ?
Symptoms reported for patients with Covid-19 include mild to severe respiratory illness: fever, cough, shortness of breath. Call your health care professional if you develop symptoms and have been in close contact with a person known to have Covid-19. Find more information on the Health Department’s website: healthvermont.gov/Covid19.
What should I do if I think I may have Covid-19?
Isolate at home: Don’t leave home, except to get medical care. Call ahead before visiting a health care provider or emergency department. Most people with mild illness can recover at home. While there is no specific treatment for Covid-19, you should get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take fever-reducing medication if needed. As much as possible, stay in a specific room in your home and use a separate bathroom. Stay at least six feet away from others in your home at all times. Don’t share household items.
What about my pets?
If you are sick, have someone else care for your pets. Although no animals have been reported to get sick with Covid-19, people with the virus should limit contact with animals until more information is known. Just like other objects, it is thought that the virus could live on the surface of your pet for some amount of time. If you do care for your pet, wash your hands before and after.
When can I stop isolating?
People with Covid-19 who have stayed home (home isolated) can stop home isolation, even without a negative test, under the following conditions:
You have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND
other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND
at least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared
If testing is available to you then you can stop home isolation after:
You no longer have a fever (without the use medicine that reduces fevers) AND
other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND
you received two negative tests in a row, 24 hours apart. (CDC guidelines may change, so always adhere to the current protocol.)
Can people who recover from Covid-19 be infected again?
The immune response to Covid-19 is not yet understood. Patients with another type of coronavirus, MERS-CoV (also known as MERS) are unlikely to be re-infected shortly after they recover, but it is not yet known whether this is true for people sick from Covid-19.
What is isolation, quarantine and self-observation?
Isolation is for people who are sick with Covid-19. Quarantine is for people with no symptoms and who were in close contact with someone sick with Covid-19 or are returning to Vermont from out of the state.
Self-observation is for other Vermonters who don’t have symptoms (something we should all always be doing).
How long can the virus live on surfaces?
Per CDC: Current evidence suggests that novel coronavirus may live for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials.
According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Covid-19 virus is viable for up to 72 hours on plastics, 48 hours on stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard, and four hours on copper. It is also detectable in the air for three hours.
But there are certainly a lot of conflicting reports. Dr. Rick A. Hildebrant, chief medical information officer and medical director for hospital medicine at RRMC, said the virus “lasts the longest on stainless steel for some reason. For paper, it seems to last for about 3 days,” he added. So with paper masks and paper respirators at the hospital they simply put them in a bag for five days “then we consider them sterilized,” he said.The same could be done with your mail, he suggested.
Is it safe to grocery shop?
Currently there is no evidence to show that Covid-19 is spread through food or food packaging. However, there is concern about the ability to keep physical distance from other shoppers and to reduce your risk of getting sick while getting groceries.
The Vermont Retail & Grocers Association has a regularly updated list of what retailers and grocers throughout the state are doing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. These services range from limited delivery, to curbside pickup and designated shopping hours for vulnerable populations. Visit vtrga.org.
Anyone who is sick or thinks they might be sick should stay home. Ask a family member, friend or neighbor to help you get your groceries, or see about having food delivered.
When you leave the store, you should wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
What soap is best?
“Broadly speaking there are two kinds of soaps that you can buy: there anti-bacterial soaps and then there’s non-anti-bacterial soap,” explained Dr. Rick A. Hildebrant. “This is not a bacteria so an anti-bacterial soap is not going to be any more affective than a regular soap… just make sure you are washing your hands appropriately,” he said referencing a meme “imagine you’re chopping up jalapenos and then you have to take your contacts out, use that level of diligence washing your hands and you’ll be sure that you’re appropriately cleaning them.”
Do homemade face masks work?
Dr. Rick A. Hildebrant summarized this the best, saying, “Paper masks prevent others from getting your sickness. It only works if everyone wears them because then those who are sick won’t be infecting others (many might not know they’re sick).
“N95 respirators actually filter 95% of the particles that you inhale. They are designed to protect health care workers from getting ill from others.
“Yes, cloth and paper masks work if everyone wears them but they do not protect you individually from getting ill,” he said.
Just to be clear, he recommends everyone wear them in public. Just as the governor does.
I have a second home or a seasonal home in Vermont. Can I come to Vermont?
If you are a second or seasonal homeowner (including an RV located in Vermont), you are encouraged to stay in your primary home unless you don’t have other options. If you do travel to Vermont from out-of-state, you must do a 14-day quarantine as soon as you arrive and comply with all of the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order.
How will we know when it is safe to relax social distancing?
Leaders around the world are constantly working with scientists and other experts to come up with plans to relax stay-at-home orders and reopen the economy. The risk is opening up too much too quickly and causing the virus to ramp up again, potentially causing another spike of cases. Most agree that testing has to be available to everyone that shows even mild symptoms with contact tracing to quarantine all who may be contagious to limit viral spread.
Governor Scott’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order extends through May 15. But some relaxing measures have been put in place and more are likely to follow.
For more information visit apps.health.vermont.gov/Covid/faq.
