COVID-19 Community Information
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COVID-19 Prevention Information
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CDC Covid-19 Coronavirus Prevention and Treatment
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered some common-sense guidelines that everyone can follow to minimize the risk of spread.
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Know the Symptoms
Know the symptoms of covid-19, along with other information from the CDC website.
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Should I wear a mask? (CDC Guidance)
UPDATED: The CDC now recommends wearing a cloth face mask when out of the home. It is believed that this will prevent people with asymptomatic COVID-19 from spreading the disease. Here is the CDC guidance on when and how to wear masks.
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Share Facts, not Fear
Because of the newness of this virus, lots of bad information is making the rounds. The CDC addresses a few common misconceptions on this page.
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World Health Organization Mythbusters
The WHO has provided additional resources to counter bad information about covid-19.
Definitions
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Isolation
Isolation-means to separate those infected (either with or without symptoms) from those who are healthy. This action should begin once you start to feel symptoms and/or test positive and should end once you are no longer presenting any symptoms. Current health standards recommend a 10-day isolation since symptoms first appeared and at least 24 hours since any signs of symptoms have passed without the use of medication.
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Quarantine
Quarantine- means to separate those potentially infected from those who are healthy. Unlike isolation, quarantine focuses on contacts (people who may have been in the presence of a case). A person should quarantine if they have come in close proximity for more than 15 minutes with someone who tests positive. Current health standards recommend a 14-day quarantine protocol.
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Social Distancing
Putting physical distance between yourself and other people. This means avoiding groups of people (parties, crowds on sidewalks, lines in a store) and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet) from others when possible.This is key to flattening the curve.
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Asymptomatic
When a patient is a carrier of an illness but does not show symptoms. People are thought to be most contagious for COVID-19 when they are most symptomatic, according to the CDC, although researchers are still investigating how its spread might be possible at other times, including during the incubation period (called “pre-symptomatic transmission”) and even after symptoms have resolved.
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Epidemic
This refers to a sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease, above what is typically expected in a particular area. COVID-19 is thought to have reached epidemic proportions in China in mid-January.
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Pandemic
A pandemic is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people”. The classical definition includes nothing about population immunity, virology or disease severity.