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Respiratory Virus Guidance

Respiratory viruses are responsible for thousands of hospitalizations and deaths every year in the US. There are many common types of respiratory viruses in addition to COVID-19, including influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The best way to avoid getting sick with any of these – or more than one at once! – is to practice some core prevention strategies.

  • Get your immunizations

  • Practice good hand hygiene

  • Take steps to improve air quality in your home

  • If you do get sick, stay home to prevent spread

Recommendations are to stay home and away from others until your symptoms are getting better AND you are fever-free without use of fever reducing medications for 24 hours. Then take additional prevention steps for at least the next 5 days.

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If you or someone in your household have risk factors for severe illness, contact a healthcare provider for testing and treatment options to reduce the severity of your illness and the chances of passing the virus to someone else.

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Taking steps to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses when you are sick is an important part of lowering risk of developing serious illness and helping to protect others.

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Additional prevention strategies can be taken after you have been sick, or if you or a loved one is at high risk of developing serious illness from any of the respiratory viruses.

  • Wear masks

  • Practice social distancing

  • Take a test when you feel symptoms

These additional precautions can be especially helpful when respiratory viruses are causing a lot of illness in your community.

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COVID-19 Testing

For a map of testing sites within the local NCHD district, click here or the following button. Once the map opens, please click the top left icon to view a complete list of location names and addresses that describes the pins on the map. This list will also tell you which type of test you can find, whether at-home rapid tests or PCR testing from a provider. At this time, there are no free testing options in the region.

COVID-19 Treatment

If you test positive for COVID-19, treatments are available. Treatment works best if it is taken within a few days of getting symptoms or testing positive. Seeking treatment can lower your risk of serious illness. Treatments must be prescribed by a healthcare professional. If you have gotten a positive result with an at-home test and you want to ask about treatment, check with your provider or a pharmacist.

Before you throw out any at-home tests that may be "expired,"

check to see if the expiration dates have been extended by visiting this FDA page describing the extended expiration dates.

For general COVID-19 questions or to find resources,
call CO-Help at 303-389-1687 or 877-462-2911
Language support available.

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