New COVID isolation guidelines NYC

1. Get tested as soon as you have COVID-19 symptoms and five days after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 (or sooner if you develop symptoms).

• Get free at-home tests or find free City testing locations
• Get free at-home test kits from the federal government

2. Isolate right away if you have symptoms. Stay home until you have no fever for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine and other COVID-19 symptoms are getting better.
Take steps to protect others in your household, including wearing a well-fitting mask, staying in a separate room as much as possible, increasing ventilation and following good hand hygiene.
Tell people you have been in close contact with that you have COVID-19 so they can get tested and take steps to protect others.
If your employer asks for proof you needed to isolate in order to provide sick leave, complete the below form. For more information on COVID-19 sick leave policies, call 855-491-2667.

• New York State Affirmation of Isolation (PDF)

3. Take Care of Yourself. Even if you do not have symptoms, rest. Take your temperature regularly and be alert to changes in symptoms. If you have a medical emergency, such as trouble breathing, call 911 or go to a hospital.

• What to Do If You Have COVID-19 (PDF)
  

4. Take Care of Others. Make sure to take steps to protect others in your household, including wearing a well-fitting mask, staying in a separate room as much as possible, increasing ventilation and following good hand hygiene.

5. You can leave isolation if you have no fever for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine and other COVID-19 symptoms are getting better.
Once you have returned to normal activities, take the precautions below for the next 5 days. If you never had symptoms but tested positive for COVID-19 or another respiratory virus, take the same precautions for the next 5 days.

• Wear a well-fitting mask that covers both your nose and mouth whenever you are around other people.
• Continue to keep a distance from others, especially those at higher risk of serious illness. This includes people age 65 and older, people who have a weakened immune system and people with underlying health conditions that increase the risk of serious illness.
• When you are indoors and around others, take steps to improve ventilation if you can, such as opening windows and using an exhaust fan.
• Practice good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands often, using hand sanitizer and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, your symptoms are improving overall and you have not had a fever (and are not taking fever-reducing medicine). Then take the above additional precaution for the next 5 days.