When is it safe to return to work after having COVID-19? [Video] | hioscar Blog | Oscar
When is it safe to return to work after having COVID-19? [Video]
We share guidelines for ending isolation so you can return to work or school after having COVID-19.
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As some schools like colleges and businesses in certain industries are considering plans for reopening, we’re discussing what strategies and criteria are being used to make decisions about when to end isolation after you’ve had COVID-19 (opens in new tab).
Dr. Stephanie Camaglia Reznick, a board-certified internal medicine physician and one of Oscar’s telemedicine providers (opens in new tab), discusses guidelines for ending isolation so you can return to work or school.
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Video Transcript
“Hi, I'm Dr. Stephanie Camaglia Reznick. I'm a board-certified internal medicine physician and one of the doctors on call available through Oscar.
In this video, I'll be discussing the CDC guidelines to be released from isolation so you can return to school or work. Please keep in mind these guidelines are rapidly evolving so you may want to check out the CDC website for the most up-to-date information. Also, keep in mind that your employer or school may have different criteria so you'll want to contact the supervisor or someone at the school to make sure they are okay with you returning.
To jump into the return to work protocol, first I'll be talking about patients who have active symptoms or have had active symptoms of COVID-19. To return to work or school, there are two different criteria sets that can be used. The first one is called the symptom based strategy.
In the symptom based strategy, you must meet three criteria. First, at least ten days must have passed since you first started feeling sick. Second, you must be without a fever for 72 hours. During these 72 hours, you must not be taking medications that can mask a fever. These medications are things like Tylenol (which is acetaminophen), Advil or Motrin (which are ibuprofen), or Aleve (which is naproxen). Keep in mind some medications like NyQuil, DayQuil, Theraflu might include some of these medications. And then finally you must feel that your respiratory symptoms are generally improving. They may not be completely gone but you feel like you're starting to feel better.
The second set of criteria is called the test based strategy. For this strategy, again, there are three criteria. First, you must not be having a fever and you cannot be taking any medications that could mask the fever. Second, you must feel that you're generally feeling better in regards to your respiratory symptoms. Again, they may not be gone but you're feeling better. And then finally you must undergo two consecutive, negative COVID-19 tests, typically the nasopharyngeal swab at this point in time, that are negative and taken at least 24 hours apart. Keep in mind because of the consecutive negative part of this criteria that if you get one positive test, you must start over.
Now for patients who didn't have symptoms but somehow were tested anyways and tested positive -- so those who are asymptomatic but infected -- there are also two set of criteria. One is the time based criteria meaning 10 days must have passed since you first had a positive COVID-19 test. You must also never have developed symptoms.
The second option is the test based strategy in which case you will have two, 24-hour apart consecutive, negative COVID-19 tests which at this point in time is the nasopharyngeal swabs. Please keep in mind that once you return to work, whether you've been sick or not, that we continue to recommend you take standard precautions meaning washing your hands well for 20 seconds frequently, disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, wearing a mask and also trying to stay 6 feet apart from others as much as you can.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I'll try to address them next time. Thank you for listening.”
Video published 2020-05-17
This content does not constitute medical advice and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, including diagnosis or treatment. Contact your physician with any questions you may have regarding COVID-19 or your personal health. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 911 for immediate assistance.
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