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Individuals Undergoing COVID-19 Testing
What should you do about work while you wait for test results?
- Please inform your supervisor at work that you have been tested for COVID-19 and note the date of testing.
- If you are experiencing symptoms: Notify your supervisor and stay home.
- If you are not experiencing symptoms: Request guidance from your supervisor on any potential work and patient care restrictions until you know your test results.
- Avoid using public transportation, rise-sharing, or taxis when commuting.
What should you do to protect yourself while you wait for test results?
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Clean all “high-touch” surfaces every day. High touch surfaces may include counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables.
- Cover coughs and sneezes.
- If able to be tolerated (doesn’t cause increased breathing difficulty), wear a facemask if you are sick.
Monitor any symptoms:
- Note the day any new symptoms begin.
- Check your own temperature two times a day.
- Keep a daily record of fever, cough, and additional respiratory symptoms.
- Seek further evaluation from a healthcare provider via telemedicine or an in-person if your symptoms get worse. Call ahead before visiting your doctor and tell them you have been tested for COVID-19.
- Even if you don’t experience symptoms, you might make others sick.
Seek medical attention immediately if you develop any of the following emergency warning signs for COVID-19 or other medical emergencies:
- Extremely difficult breathing
- Bluish lips or face
- Constant pain or pressure in the chest
- Severe constant dizziness or lightheadedness
- Acting confused
- Difficult to wake up
- Slurred speech (new or worsening)
- New seizure or seizures that won’t stop
*This list is not all-inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.
Test Results and Notification
- Depending on the lab where your COVID-19 test is done, the time frame for receiving the test results may vary. Your healthcare provider or testing site can tell you approximately when to expect a result.
- IDPH is unable to notify individuals directly of any lab results; your healthcare provider will notify you of the COVID-19 test result.
If you test positive for COVID-19, keep your entire household home.
- Most cases can be cared for at home.
- Do not go to the hospital to seek care unless you have a medical emergency
- Do not go to work. Notify your employer of your positive test result.
- Continue to monitor your symptoms at home as described on the opposite side.
- Seek medical attention if you develop ANY of the following:
- Extreme difficulty breathing
- Difficult to wake up
- Bluish lips or face
- Slurred speech (new or worsening)
- Constant pain or pressure in the chest
- New seizures or seizures that won’t stop Severe constant dizziness or lightheadedness
What should you expect?
- Most people experience minor symptoms such as fever and cough.
- Over-the-counter medications that lesson symptoms of fever and cough may help.
- It is important to get rest and drink plenty of fluids.
- There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
When does home isolation end?
- If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home and limit contact with others until:
- You have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using medicine that reduces fevers
- AND
- Your other symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours AND
- At least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared
- You have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using medicine that reduces fevers
- If you have no symptoms but test positive, you may end isolation 10 days after the positive specimen was collected, if no symptoms develop.
- Some people may need to stay home longer; consult with your healthcare provider.
- You will need to consult your employer prior to returning to work. Some employers may require negative testing before returning to work.
- For information on household contacts, refer to the guidance at http://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus/personal-guidance-and-testing or call 1800-889-3931.
If you test negative for COVID-19
- You are probably not infected at this time. However, you could have been exposed and test positive later.
- You must continue to practice all the protective measures to keep yourself and others negative.
- As long as the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading in your community, continue to follow recommendations to protect yourself, including:
- practice social distancing, wash your hands often, avoid touching your face, and avoid social gatherings according to local guidance.
- Follow guidance from your healthcare provider and your state and local health departments.
Guidance Document: