Help slow the spread of COVID-19!
You received a message from the NC COVID Community Team because you recently tested positive for COVID-19. The NC COVID Community Team is here to help you get the resources, information, and support you need to protect yourself and your family.
Information about Isolating: How You Can Protect Your Loved Ones and Community
Because you tested positive, you should isolate yourself from others within your home to protect yourself and your loved ones. This means that you should stay home and avoid sharing a bedroom, bathroom, or common spaces with anyone else in your household. You should stay in isolation until ALL of the following are true:
- It has been at least 10 days since your symptoms started (or since the date of your test if you do not have any symptoms), AND
- 24 hours have passed since you last had a fever (fevers are temperatures more than 100.4°F) while being off all fever-reducing medications like Advil and Tylenol, AND
- Your symptoms have improved.
For more information on how to properly isolate, please also utilize this guide in English and Spanish as well as this CDC page. Additionally, learn about the difference between quarantine and isolation from the CDC and view a helpful chart in English and Spanish.
Information for People You Live with
COVID-19 spreads very easily, so people who live with you are at high risk for also getting the virus. To slow the spread of the virus and protect your loved ones, your household members should follow these instructions to quarantine. Quarantine is for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 and means that they should stay home and separate themselves from others.
- If you can’t completely isolate yourself from your household members during your self-isolation period, your household members should quarantine immediately and continue their quarantine period until 14 days after the last day you were considered infectious (see list above).
- If you can completely isolate yourself from your household members, your household members should begin their 14 day quarantine period the day after you go into isolation.
For more information about how to safely care for someone with COVID-19, please review this helpful resource in English and Spanish.
Notify Others to Help Slow the Spread
We encourage you to notify anyone you have been in close contact with to let them know that you have tested positive for COVID-19.
To determine your “close contacts,” ask yourself:
- When did my symptoms start, or when did I test positive for COVID-19? The first of these two dates is your start date.
- The time period when you may have exposed others starts 48 hours before your start date and ends when you start isolation.
- Who was I physically close to during this time period? This includes anyone you see face-to-face within 6 feet, for more than 15 minutes total within a 24hr period. Anyone who meets this criteria is considered a close contact.
For a helpful worksheet to determine who your close contacts are: English and Spanish.
We also know that telling friends, neighbors, and acquaintances that they were exposed to COVID-19 can be difficult. If you feel uncomfortable personally notifying your close contacts, you can let them know by sending them an anonymous email or text notification using the website: TellYourContacts.org.
SlowCOVIDNC Users: Obtain your PIN
If you are a current user of SlowCOVIDNC, you may obtain your PIN to share your positive results anonymously here.
Get Your Vaccine
Tested, safe and effective, COVID-19 vaccines will help us gain control of our lives and get back to the people and places we love. People with COVID-19 should wait to be vaccinated until they have recovered from their illness and have met the criteria for discontinuing isolation. Find a vaccine location to get your vaccine here. Find more information on the vaccine here (NC) and here (CDC).
Get More Support and Information
- If you have questions and would like to talk to someone immediately, please call your local health department (number can be found here) or the NC COVID Community Team at 844-628-7223.
- If you have been impacted by COVID-19, or need help with vaccine support, please contact a Community Healthcare Worker by reaching out to an organization from this list based on your county.
- If you need mental health or substance abuse services, please call Hope 4 NC Crisis Counseling Services Hotline at 1-877-235-4525 anytime day or night.
- If you need financial, food, and/or COVID-19 assistance to safely quarantine, please know that Support Services may be available for you. To see if Support Services are available, please visit: covid19.ncdhhs.gov/Support
If you think you have received notification in error, please call the NC COVID Community Team or your local health department. Your local health department may contact you for more information, please answer the call!
