COVID-19 Positive Caregivers and Nurses who are fully recovered, vaccinated and tested can be matched with and care for COVID-19 Positive Patients in Howard County safely.
BrightStar Care provides Home Care for COVID-19 Positive Patients.
What to do if you test positive for COVID-19:
If you test positive for COVID-19, you should isolate yourself from others. It may take some time for public health representatives to contact you. Until public health representatives contact you, please follow this guide:
If your symptoms are mild, or if you are not experiencing any symptoms, you should isolate at home. Stay home unless you need to seek medical attention. If you need care, call us. Our COVID-Positive Caregivers can help. We can provide meal preparation, laundry, shopping, and transportation to the doctor or hospital and 24/7 RN oversight for every client.
Do not go to work. Do not go to school. Do not attend social gatherings or groups. If you feel well enough, you may spend time outside on your property away from other people. Our caregivers can provide companionship.
What does isolation look like?
- Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home:
- Stay in a specific room and away from others.
- Use a separate bathroom if available.
- Avoid sharing household items such as food, dishes, towels, blankets or bedding.
- Have a caregiver who is not sick help care for your animals. If that is not possible, wash your hands before and after contact with them or feeding them.
If separation is not possible because your household space is limited, please see the following guidance for isolating when household space is limited or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/living-in-close-quarters.html.
Take steps to protect others:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Clean commonly touched surfaces with a household cleaner.
- Wear a face covering if you need to be around other people, even within the home.
What else can you do?
You should notify people you were around when you were contagious. You are considered contagious from two days before your symptoms begin until 10 days after your symptoms begin. If you have no symptoms, you are considered contagious beginning two days before your test sample was collected and until 10 days after your test sample was collected.
This may include:
- People you were within 6 feet of for a total of 15 minutes or more (for example, at work, at school, or social gatherings).
- People you care for at home.
- People you had direct physical contact with (hugged or kissed them).
- People you shared eating or drinking utensils with.
- People you sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on
How long should you isolate?
Stay in isolation until all of these three things are true:
- You have not had a fever (without using fever-reducing medications) for at least 24 hours.
- Your other symptoms have improved since they first began.
- At least 10 days have gone by since your symptoms first started.
- If you had no symptoms, stay in isolation for 10 days starting from the date you took your positive test.
What’s the difference between isolation and quarantine?
Isolation is what you do if you have COVID-19 symptoms, or have tested positive. Isolation means you stay home and away from others (including household members) for the recommended period of time to avoid spreading illness.
Quarantine is what you do if you have been exposed to COVID-19. Quarantine means you stay home and away from others for the recommended period of time in case you are infected and are contagious. Quarantine becomes isolation if you test positive for COVID-19 or develop symptoms after an exposure. Why do my household members have to quarantine longer than I have to isolate? Quarantine is the length of the incubation period of the virus and is based on the last time a person was exposed. People exposed should stay home for 14 days after the last contact with a person who has COVID-19. If you are able to isolate from your household members, they can start their quarantine on the date you start isolating. Their quarantine will be the date you start isolating + 14 days. If you live with someone and you are not able to avoid close contact (e.g do not have a separate bedroom and bathroom or live in close quarters where you cannot keep a physical distance of 6 feet) they cannot start their quarantine until you end isolation. Their quarantine will not start until your isolation ends. Their quarantine will be the date you end home isolation + 14 days.
BrightStar Care of Howard County provides 24/7 to Hourly Private Duty Home Health Care and Medical Staffing Services.
We offer support around the clock, providing a full continuum of private duty health care +services and medical staffing services. We proudly serve Howard County, Columbia, Ellicott City, Laurel, Frederick, Clarksville, Westminster, Fulton, and Savage areas.
For more information on how BrightStar Care supports Howard County’s families fighting the coronavirus, and to learn more about our local team of caregivers, skilled healthcare professionals – please Click Here.
SOURCE:
ttps://health.wyo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/What-to-do-if-you-test-positive-for-COVID-19-11520.pdf
Wyoming Department of Health: Tips if You Test Positive .... https://k2radio.com/wyoming-department-of-health-what-to-do-if-you-test-positive-for-covid-19/
What does isolation look like? - sweet.wy.us. https://www.sweet.wy.us/document_center/Board/Health/What-to-do-if-you-test-positive-for-COVID-19-11520.docx