Symptoms

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus:

• Fever

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Diarrhea

• Chills

• Repeated shaking with chills

• Muscle pain

• Headache

• Sore throat

• New loss of taste or smell

I have symptoms, Now What?

Get tested. Contact your healthcare provider or find a testing site in Pennsylvania. If you do not want to get tested, it's still important to stay home, isolate and avoid contact with others, rest, and drink fluids.

If you test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, take the following steps to protect others regardless of your COVID-19 vaccination status:

• Isolate for at least 5 days. You can end isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation). Day 0 is your first day of symptoms. You can also use a test-based strategy to end isolation.

• Wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 additional days after the end of your 5-day isolation period. Take additional precautions on days 6-10, such as avoiding travel and situations where you will come in contact with individuals at high risk for severe disease. If you are unable to wear a mask when around others, you should continue to isolate for 10 days.

• Follow CDC’s recommendations for isolation.

• Most people who have mild symptoms can recover at home without medical care. Contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible if you are more likely to get very sick because of being an older adult or having underlying medical conditions or if your symptoms get worse.

I don't have symptoms, but I have been exposed or possiblty exposed to an infected person, now what?

• Individuals who have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case should be tested regardless of the presence of symptoms. Close contacts are people who have been within 6 feet of a person with a confirmed COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes.

• Persons who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and have received a booster vaccine or are within 6 months of receiving their primary vaccine series should wear a mask around others for 10 days, but do not need to quarantine.

• Persons who are unvaccinated or who are eligible (i.e., more than 6 months after primary vaccine series) but have not yet received a booster vaccine must quarantine at home for 5 days, and then wear a mask around others until Day 10.

• All exposed persons regardless of vaccination should test on Day 5 if possible. Find a testing site in Pennsylvania.