Have you had contact with a person infected with COVID-19? The most important thing you need to do [EXPLAINED]

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The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in Poland has already been confirmed in over 140. people. Several thousand more come every day. The risk of infection is increasing. Do you know what to do when you come in contact with someone suffering from COVID-19? There is one thing you need to do as quickly as possible, and it is not about taking the test at all. How to proceed in such a situation, explains Lidia Stopyra, an infectious disease specialist at the Specialist Hospital. Stefan Żeromski in Krakow.

1. If SARS-CoV-2 infection is found, the epidemiological investigation is within the competence of the Sanepid
2. A person who has had contact with someone with COVID-19 must be quarantined
3. How long must we be in isolation? It depends on whether we have symptoms indicating a possible coronavirus infection or not. If there are no symptoms, the quarantine lasts 10 days
4. If, after the end of quarantine, disturbing symptoms appear, you should immediately contact the health care center and general practitioner
5. For more up-to-date information on the coronavirus epidemic, visit the TvoiLokony home page

What does it mean that someone has had contact with a person infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus?

Coronavirus is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets. Most often by coughing, sneezing or with saliva. It is also known that the pathogen can be transmitted indirectly by touch (which is why washing hands is so important), as well as by air – microbes can escape from the body of an infected person while singing, exercising, even when exhaling.

In Poland, COVID-19 infection has been confirmed in over 140. people. This number is constantly increasing, and with it the risk that someone in your immediate or distant surroundings will fall ill. Do you know what to do in such a situation?

To begin with, it is worth clarifying the basic issue: what does it mean that someone has had contact with a person infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This term refers to the following situations (from www.gov.pl):

1. Being in direct contact with a sick person or in contact less than 2 meters away for more than 15 minutes
2. Have a face-to-face conversation with the person with symptoms for an extended period of time
3. An infected person belongs to a group of closest friends or colleagues
4. A person living in the same household as the sick person or in the same hotel room.

As Lidia Stopyra emphasizes, in the above-mentioned situations it is about contact without a protective mask. – Remember, properly worn masks protect. Compliance with the obligation to wear them protects against infection, and earlier, against quarantine.

Contact with a person infected with COVID-19. What to do next? The most important quarantine

If SARS-CoV-2 infection is found, the epidemiological investigation is within the competence of the Sanepid. It is the Department of Health that examines the entire epidemiological outbreak, establishes contacts and sends you to quarantine.

– If we have an infected person, the point that made the smear sends a positive test report to the Sanepid, and the doctor who sent the smear also sends the report. At this point, the department begins an investigation – asks the infected person with whom they contacted during the period of contagiousness, and what the contact was. On the basis of this interview, the Department of Health recognizes who is a contact and who is not. And it imposes a mandatory quarantine (informs about it by e-mail or SMS) – says the doctor.

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Unfortunately, it also happens that the health and safety department contacts the infected person too late. – Unfortunately, this is the most common situation nowadays that the health and safety department contacts the infected person too late, e.g. 10 days after the test result. And the patient is on his own. So we have a situation where we are called by a person with whom we had contact with the information that the test confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Most often it is a few days after the contact, because this person has already started to have symptoms that prompted him to take the test, took the test and waited for the result.

Remember, we can then infect. So we have to quarantine ourselves as soon as possible. Sanepid (although he does not call us yet) should already know then that we had contact with an infected person (because in the interview she named us as a contact).

1. How does the Department of Healthcare look for people in contact with a person infected with COVID-19? “Usually it is from 10 to even 100 people”

Quarantine – what does it mean, how long does it last?

Quarantine is the isolation of a healthy person due to exposure to coronavirus infection. For the entire duration of it, we are not allowed to: leave the house, go to the store or go for a walk with the dog. If we maintain close contacts with other people, e.g. at home – they must also be quarantined.

Remember that people staying in compulsory quarantine can be checked by the police, checking whether they remain in their place of residence. Failure to comply with the quarantine may result in a financial penalty of up to 30. PLN (its amount is always determined individually).

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How long must we be in isolation? It depends on whether we have symptoms indicating a possible coronavirus infection or not.

According to the current guidelines, people who do not have clinical symptoms of COVID-19 are quarantined for 10 days. After this time, it ends automatically (no coronavirus test).

– However, it is worth taking into account that the incubation period lasts 14 days (although it is usually five or seven days), so symptoms may appear, for example, on day 11 or 12. This means that after being released from quarantine, the person will become contagious – points out Lidia Stopyra. – These are rare situations, but let’s remember: although this 10-day quarantine is over, we are absolutely obligated to wear masks and a full sanitary regime (which now applies to all of us).

If, after the end of quarantine, disturbing symptoms appear (malaise, fever, cough, shortness of breath), you should immediately contact the health service and general practitioner.

As Dr. Stopyra points out, we do not have to measure the temperature every day during quarantine. However, if we develop symptoms suggesting COVID-19 infection (fever, headache, muscle aches, shortness of breath, cough, loss of smell and taste), a throat swab test for SARS-CoV-2 infection should be performed. In case of a positive result, we are subject to isolation for at least 13 days.

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The primary care physician may refer us to the examination after a teleportation. If the symptoms are more severe, he decides to undergo an examination or even sends him directly to the hospital.

The 13-day isolation period may be extended by the general practitioner or – if we find ourselves in hospital – by the ward doctor.

What if a person in quarantine would like to have a coronavirus test? As we said above, your primary care physician will refer you for the test when there are symptoms that indicate a possible COVID-19 infection. However, if someone would like to perform such a test privately, it is worth remembering that in the case of mild symptoms, not to do it immediately after the symptoms appear, but after two or three days. – A test taken too early, i.e. in the first hours after the onset of symptoms, may be false negative – explains the infectious diseases specialist.

You may be interested in:

1. Family doctors’ call: if you have symptoms of infection, stay at home! Patients do not admit they may have the coronavirus
2. How To Survive The Flu Season In A Pandemic? We have some expert advice
3. A nurse who was infected with the coronavirus tells about the disease

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