I miss seeing our students in the Health Office but I know they are safe at home with their families, doing school work and practicing social distancing.
Below are updates on recommendations from NH DHHS as well as some clarification of terms. I will try to communicate new information each week in the Newsletter.
At all times, please stay at home and practice Social Distancing as a family, except to shop for food and other essentials, or to go to work if necessary. Please assist our healthcare workforce by practicing these important measures with your family.
Self-Quarantine: is the term being use for people who are NOT symptomatic (not sick) but who have come into contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 OR, had contact with a person with COVID-19 symptoms who has not been tested because of mild symptoms. People who have traveled to any of the high-risk areas domestically or internationally within the last two weeks should also self-quarantine.
- Stay home and out of the public for 14 days after your last contact with the person who has assumed COVID-19 infection, or since your last day of travel. If you do not develop symptoms, it is fine to return to social distancing after 14 days.
- If you develop symptoms of fever, dry cough, congestion, and/or GI upset, Self-Isolate and contact your health care provider.
Self-Isolation: If you think you have COVID-19 infection (you have symptoms), you should self- isolate at home. Most symptoms are mild and can spread out over a 12 day period. If symptoms worsen: increasing fever, cough and shortness of breath, call your health care provider immediately, or 911 if severe.
- Stay home
- Let your physician know you are ill and are self-isolating
- Keep away from other people in the house as much as possible, at least 6-8 feet apart
- Use a separate bathroom if possible. Disinfect surfaces touched such as doorknobs, light switches, railings, toilet handle.
- If possible, stay in a separate room from others.
- Continue to practice general hygiene measures such as covering cough and sneeze. Washing hands and using hand sanitizer.
DHHS is asking physicians not to test patients who report mild respiratory symptoms. Most people can be managed at home without testing, much as you would be managed if you had the flu. Reasons they can’t test everyone are:
- Showing up for testing potentially exposes the public, healthcare workers, and vulnerable persons to COVID-19.
- We must preserve our limited personal protective equipment (such as masks and gowns (we are in short supply across the nation) as well as specimen collection supplies for our healthcare system to be able to care for patients who develop severe COVID-19 illness over the comings months of this pandemic.
- Confirming infection for every person does not change how most people’s illness is managed.
In short, call your physician if you are sick and as long as your symptoms are mild, expect to be told to self-isolate.
Instructions on when to discontinue self-isolation after being ill. Self-isolate until:
- 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
AND
- At least 72 hours (3 days) have passed since recovery, which is defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medication and improvement in respiratory symptoms.
Expect a time frame of about 2 weeks.
Again, here are links for you to use resources. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions at Kathy.barth@crossroadsacademy.org. I am checking my mail daily and will respond as soon as I can.
