March 29, 2020 – Per the Governor’s Executive Order, every resident of the State of Illinois, and especially those who have been exposed to COVID-19 through travel to a high-risk area or personal contact with a person who has the virus, should be under quarantine even if he or she is not exhibiting any symptoms.
Quarantine means limiting contact with other people and only leaving the home when necessary to perform essential functions. These essential functions mean gathering groceries and/or medications for the household, going to work at an essential job, and walking your pets outside while maintaining social distancing best practices.
People with mild confirmed cases of COVID-19 who are directed to stay home by their healthcare provider should remain in isolation to protect others from getting the virus. Isolation means complete separation from other people as much as possible. Isolated people should not leave their home for any reason and should avoid contact with others in their household.
What happens if my entire family is isolated?
If an entire household is isolated and household members need assistance in attaining necessary items, they are urged to dial the local 2-1-1 number. When a household has a mix of isolated individuals and quarantined individuals, one quarantined individual may leave the household for an hour to secure food, medicine and other essential supplies. This protocol applies to the household even if an isolated individual is in the hospital.
How should patients be isolated at home?
The isolated person should avoid contact with other members of the household, including pets. If possible, the isolation area should be separated from the rest of the household by a door. The patient should have a separate bedroom and a separate bathroom stocked with disposable towels. All shared bathrooms should be equipped with cleaning supplies. If anyone else in the household becomes ill, anyone who shared the bathroom with that person should be considered at risk for infection. Food should be brought to the isolated person’s quarters. That person should not eat meals with the rest of the household. Garbage should be bagged and left outside the isolated person’s quarters for routine pickup. Healthy people in the household should monitor themselves continually for elevated temperature and other symptoms with public health supervision at determined.
