SIPH: Do your part to end the pandemic
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - With the Delta variant circulating widely in Idaho, COVID-19 cases are increasing including breakthrough cases (cases among fully vaccinated individuals) and hospitalizations.
To end the pandemic and get life back to normal, Southeastern Idaho Public Health (SIPH) is highly encouraging the public to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.
“We all want to get back to normal, but to do so, we all need to work together and follow the recommendations. We all have a role to play in this pandemic, and we can overcome it together,” Southeastern Idaho Public Health Director Maggie Mann said.
CDC recommendations are as follows:
- Wear a mask.
- If you are aged 2 or older, you should wear a mask in indoor public places even if you are fully vaccinated.
- Stay 6 feet away from others.
- Inside your home: Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- If possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other household members.
- Outside your home: Put 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household.
- Remember that some people without symptoms may be able to spread virus.
- Keeping distance from others is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
- Inside your home: Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
- Avoid indoor spaces that do not offer fresh air from the outdoors as much as possible.
- If indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible.
- Wash your hands often.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
- If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated.
- COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, including severe illness and death.
- COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 currently circulating, including the Delta variant.
- Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild.
- The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and recommended for all persons aged 12 years of age and older, even for those with prior COVID-19 infection.
- • Quarantine
- If you’ve had close contact (within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-period) with someone who has COVID-19, you should:
- For fully-vaccinated individuals:
- Get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms. You should also wear a mask indoors for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive.
- For unvaccinated individuals:
- Quarantine for 14 days, since it is still best practice and is the safest way to avoid spreading this virus, but if that is going to provide a hardship to your family or employer there are the following options:
- Non-Testing Strategy: Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
- Testing Strategy: Quarantine can end after Day 7 with a negative PCR test (not an antigen test) and no symptoms. Testing must be a molecular amplification method (e.g. RT-PCR). The specimen can be collected no sooner than Day 5 of isolation. Quarantine period can end only after the negative test result is available, but no earlier than Day 7.
- Quarantine for 14 days, since it is still best practice and is the safest way to avoid spreading this virus, but if that is going to provide a hardship to your family or employer there are the following options:
- For individuals who have had COVID-19 in the last 3 months and has recovered and remains without COVID-19 symptoms:
- Does not need to quarantine at home.
- For fully-vaccinated individuals:
- If you’ve had close contact (within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-period) with someone who has COVID-19, you should:
- Isolate
- If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, get tested and isolate at home.
- If you test positive for COVID-19, and have symptoms:
- Isolation period is 10 days since symptoms first appeared, and
- 24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications, and
- Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving.
- If you test positive for COVID-19, but have not symptoms:
- Isolation period is 10 days from positive test result.
- If you test positive for COVID-19, and have symptoms:
- If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, get tested and isolate at home.
For more information, visit cdc.gov, siphidaho.org, or call SIPH’s COVID-19 Hotline at 208-234-5875.