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Under administrative direction and approval, before services are provided or received, each person must be generally healthy, free from communicable disease, and show no signs of contagious and infectious illness.
During the COVID–19 pandemic, people with COVID–19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID–19:
- Fever, chills, or headache
- Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue, muscle or body aches
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Anyone who exhibits any contagious and infectious illness or symptoms will need to seek medical assistance and stay home for a certain time period. The administration will use CDC guidelines and determine time period.
Before direct support staff and participants are permitted to return, provide, and/or receive services and supports, they must receive administrative approval. Approval is conditional on their health and responses to the following questions.
- Has he/she show any signs or symptoms of COVID–19 in the last 14 days?
- Has he/she been tested for COVID–19? When? Results?
- Has anyone in the household been tested for COVID–19? When? Results?
- Has he/she or anyone in the household been advised by a health care professional to self–quarantine due to concerns related to COVID–19? When?
- Has he/she been exposed or suspected to be exposed to anyone who showed symptoms of or was COVID–19? Who? When?
- Has he/she traveled out of state in the last fourteen days? When? Where? How Long?
- Does he/she have contact with people at higher risk for infection, especially those who are 60 years and older, with respiratory and/or severely weakened immune system issues?
Anyone tested positive for COVID–19 and exhibiting symptoms:
If anyone shows signs of illness, they will be encouraged to wear a mask and strictly follow the social distancing guidelines. Typically, the person can be around others after:
- 10 days since symptoms first appeared and
- 24 hours with no fever without fever–reducing medications and
- Other COVID–19 symptoms are improving. Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation
People who are severely ill with COVID–19 might need to stay home longer than 10 days and up to 20 days after symptoms first appeared. Persons who are severely immunocompromised may require testing to determine when they can be around others. Seek healthcare provider assistance.
Anyone tested positive for COVID–19 but having no symptoms:
If people continue to have no symptoms, they can be with others after 10 days have passed since the person had a positive viral test for COVID–19.
Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID–19 should stay home for 14 days after their last exposure to that person:
Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID–19 and who meets the following criteria does NOT need to stay home.
- Has COVID–19 illness within the previous 3 months and
- Has recovered and
- Remains without COVID–19 symptoms (for example, cough, shortness of breath)
Anyone who may be asymptomatic and pre–symptomatic COVID–19:
Protect yourself and others by wearing face coverings, practice good hand washing, follow universal precautions, and avoid touching nose, mouth, and eyes.
Reference: CDC Return to Work Criteria and Guidelines, September 11, 2020 and August 10, 2020, respectively https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/returning-to-work.html and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/return-to-work.html