COVID-19 Local Resource Guide

How can you help prevent
getting the virus?
• Stay at least 6 feet away from
others. Stay at home as much as
possible.
• Avoid close contact with people
who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose,
and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
with your sleeve or a tissue, then
throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently
touched objects and surfaces using
a regular household cleaning
spray or wipe. Do not flush wipes.
• Wash your hands often with soap
and water for at least 20 seconds,
especially after going to the bathroom;
before eating; and after
blowing your nose, coughing, or
sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily
available, use an alcohol-based
hand sanitizer with at least 60%
alcohol.
What are the symptoms ?
Symptoms reported for patients with
Covid-19 include mild to severe respiratory
illness: fever, cough, shortness of
breath. Call your health care professional
if you develop symptoms and have been
in close contact with a person known to
have Covid-19. Find more information on
the Health Department’s website: healthvermont.gov/Covid19.
What should I do if I think I
may have Covid-19?
Isolate at home: Don’t leave home,
except to get medical care. Call ahead
before visiting a health care provider or
emergency department. Most people
with mild illness can recover at home.
While there is no specific treatment for
Covid-19, you should get plenty of rest,
drink plenty of fluids, and take feverreducing
medication if needed. As much
as possible, stay in a specific room in your
home and use a separate bathroom. Stay
at least six feet away from others in your
home at all times. Don’t share household
items.
What about my pets?
If you are sick, have someone else care
for your pets. Although no animals have
been reported to get sick with Covid-19,
people with the virus should limit contact
with animals until more information
is known. Just like other objects, it is
thought that the virus could live on the
surface of your pet for some amount of
time. If you do care for your pet, wash
your hands before and after.
When can I stop isolating?
People with Covid-19 who have stayed
home (home isolated) can stop home
Need to know
Answers to Vermonters’ frequently asked questions
isolation, even without a negative test,
under the following conditions:
• You have had no fever for at least
72 hours (that is three full days of
no fever without the use of medicine
that reduces fevers) AND
• other symptoms have improved
(for example, when your cough or
shortness of breath have improved)
AND
• at least 7 days have passed since
your symptoms first appeared
If testing is available to you then you
can stop home isolation after:
• You no longer have a fever (without
the use medicine that reduces
fevers) AND
• other symptoms have improved
(for example, when your cough or
shortness of breath have improved)
AND
• you received two negative tests
in a row, 24 hours apart. (CDC
guidelines may change, so always
adhere to the current protocol.)
Can people who recover from
Covid-19 be infected again?
The immune response to Covid-19
is not yet understood. Patients with
another type of coronavirus, MERS-CoV
(also known as MERS) are unlikely to be
re-infected shortly after they recover, but
it is not yet known whether this is true for
people sick from Covid-19.
What is isolation, quarantine and
self-observation?
Isolation is for people who are sick
with Covid-19. Quarantine is for people
with no symptoms and who were in close
contact with someone sick with Covid-19
or are returning to Vermont from out of
the state.
Self-observation is for other Vermonters
who don’t have symptoms (something
we should all always be doing).
How long can the virus live
on surfaces?
Per CDC: Current evidence suggests
that novel coronavirus may live for hours
to days on surfaces made from a variety of
materials.
According to a recent study published in
the New England Journal of Medicine, the
Covid-19 virus is viable for up to 72 hours
on plastics, 48 hours on stainless steel, 24
hours on cardboard, and four hours on
copper. It is also detectable in the air for
three hours.
But there are certainly a lot of conflicting
reports. Dr. Rick A. Hildebrant, chief medical
information officer and medical director
for hospital medicine at RRMC, said the
virus “lasts the longest on stainless steel
for some reason. For paper, it seems to last
for about 3 days,” he added. So with paper
masks and paper respirators at the hospital
they simply put them in a bag for five days
“then we consider them sterilized,” he said.
The same could be done with your mail, he
suggested.
Is it safe to grocery shop?
Currently there is no evidence to show
that Covid-19 is spread through food or
food packaging. However, there is concern
about the ability to keep physical distance
from other shoppers and to reduce your
risk of getting sick while getting groceries.
The Vermont Retail & Grocers Association
has a regularly updated list of what retailers
and grocers throughout the state are
doing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
These services range from limited delivery,
to curbside pickup and designated shopping
hours for vulnerable populations. Visit
vtrga.org.
Anyone who is sick or thinks they might
be sick should stay home. Ask a family
member, friend or neighbor to help you get
your groceries, or see about having food
delivered.
When you leave the store, you should
wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
What soap is best?
“Broadly speaking there are two kinds
of soaps that you can buy: there antibacterial
soaps and then there’s nonanti-bacterial
soap,” explained Dr. Rick A.
Hildebrant. “This is not a bacteria so an
anti-bacterial soap is not going to be any
more affective than a regular soap… just
make sure you are washing your hands appropriately,”
he said referencing a meme
“imagine you’re chopping up jalapenos
and then you have to take your contacts
out, use that level of diligence washing
your hands and you’ll be sure that you’re
appropriately cleaning them.”
Do homemade face
masks work?
Dr. Rick A. Hildebrant summarized this
the best, saying, “Paper masks prevent
others from getting your sickness. It only
works if everyone wears them because
then those who are sick won’t be infecting
others (many might not know they’re sick).
“N95 respirators actually filter 95%
of the particles that you inhale. They are
designed to protect health care workers
from getting ill from others.
“Yes, cloth and paper masks work if everyone
wears them but they do not protect
you individually from getting ill,” he said.
Just to be clear, he recommends
everyone wear them in public. Just as the
governor does.
I have a second home or a
seasonal home in Vermont.
Can I come to Vermont?
If you are a second or seasonal homeowner
(including an RV located in Vermont),
you are encouraged to stay in your
primary home unless you don’t have other
options. If you do travel to Vermont from
out-of-state, you must do a 14-day quarantine
as soon as you arrive and comply
with all of the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order.
How will we know when it is
safe to relax social distancing?
Leaders around the world are constantly
working with scientists and other
experts to come up with plans to relax
stay-at-home orders and reopen the
economy. The risk is opening up too much
too quickly and causing the virus to ramp
up again, potentially causing another
spike of cases. Most agree that testing has
to be available to everyone that shows
even mild symptoms with contact tracing
to quarantine all who may be contagious
to limit viral spread.
Governor Scott’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe”
order extends through May 15. But some
relaxing measures have been put in place
and more are likely to follow.
For more information visit apps.health.
vermont.gov/Covid/faq.
Covid-19 Local Guide • April 24, 2020 • 5