QUESTION
We have holiday plans this weekend and of course- one person in our household just tested positive for Covid! Everyone else is negative so far.
We would hate to cancel our plans, but of course we want to be responsible. Help! What are the current guidelines and timelines? How many days are recommended to quarantine? Is it safe to attend while masking?
Is there anything the rest of us can do to boost our immune systems?
Thanks for any advice!
ANSWERS
Dr. Faith Hackett, Pediatrician, SPDOCS
These are the current CDC guidelines:
- If you test positive for Covid either by antigen or PCR testing, quarantine from others for 5 days. So if you test positive on December 20th, you need to quarantine until the 26th and skip Christmas day events.
- If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, follow the CDC’s recommendations including wearing a high-quality mask when indoors around others (including inside your home) for 10 days, testing, and monitoring yourself for symptoms.
- Most people acquire Covid within 2-4 days if they are going to. Strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 circulating in 2023 typically took about three days from exposure to show symptoms. It may take up to a week before an at-home antigen test shows positive.
- Regardless of your vaccination status: Get tested immediately and 3-5 days after your last exposure. Wear a mask around others for 10 days, even at home.
- It’s so hard! People are tired of Covid, and often refuse to test for it at home OR in my office because they do not want to know, and do not want to miss events. So if someone near you is coughing a lot, it is worth your while to wear a mask.
Cindy Collins, owner, Euphoric Herbals Apothecary
There are a couple different things we typically recommend to help people boost their immune systems. We definitely recommend a Vitamin D3 supplement and two other natural remedies are elderberry and colloidal silver.
- Elderberry is a preventative and a treatment, which is especially good for sore throats and can be taken as a tea or syrup. We recommend adults get a 500 mg per dose and kids aim to get 300 mg.
- Colloidal silver you can take at the onset or as a preventative, and there’s no taste to it, so some people like that.
- One other thing that is great is reishi mushroom, especially when you’re wanting to support the immune system in times of stress. It can be taken in capsule or powdered form, or as a liquid supplement.
GEHA Nurse Advice Line
The CDC recommendations are what we follow; they’re the most up-to-date.
If a family member has Covid and someone else in the family is testing negative, you can go about your business within reason, but the CDC recommends you need to start precautions immediately, including wearing a mask around others. Start counting from Day 1, so Day 0 is your last day of exposure. Continue precautions for 10 full days.
Test yourself on Day 6 after exposure. If you’re negative, continue taking precautions through Day 10.
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