Skip to content
OutbreakWatch
← Action guides

COVID-19

What Should I Do?

Based on CDC and WHO guidance, checked against those sources on Oct 12, 2026. Educational information only — not a diagnosis or a substitute for a licensed healthcare professional.

1 · Prevention

  • Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination as recommended for you — ask a healthcare professional or pharmacist.
  • Bring in fresh air or use air filtration indoors.
  • Wash hands often with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  • Consider a well-fitting mask in crowded indoor places, especially when local activity is elevated or you are at higher risk.
  • Have home tests available and know where you would get treatment if you became sick.

Vaccines & preventive medicines

  • COVID-19 vaccines are available. Who is eligible and which product is recommended changes over time and differs by country — check with a healthcare professional or your national health authority.
  • Prescription antiviral treatments exist for people at higher risk of severe illness; they must be started within days of symptoms beginning. Only a healthcare professional can decide whether they are right for you.

2 · Possible exposure

  • Watch for symptoms over the next several days. If symptoms start, test and follow the illness steps below.
  • If you have no symptoms and a home test is negative, repeat it: FDA advises 3 antigen tests, 48 hours apart, to be confident you are not infected.
  • Take added precautions around others (mask, distance, hand hygiene) for several days.
  • If you are at higher risk of severe illness, tell a healthcare professional about the exposure so you have a plan if symptoms start.

3 · Symptoms or illness

  • Take a COVID-19 test — a negative home test does not rule out infection; testing again 48 hours later is recommended.
  • Stay home and away from others (including people you live with, where possible) while you are sick.
  • You can go back to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, your symptoms are getting better overall and you have not had a fever without using fever-reducing medicine.
  • For the next 5 days after that, take added precautions: wear a well-fitting mask around others, keep distance, wash hands often, improve ventilation, and consider testing.
  • Rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Protect family & others

  • Cover coughs and sneezes; wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
  • Open windows or use air filtration to bring in cleaner air when someone is sick at home.
  • Wear a well-fitting mask around others while you have symptoms or during the added-precautions period.
  • Keep extra distance from people at higher risk of severe illness (older adults, babies, pregnant people, people with weakened immune systems).
  • Follow the stay-home and added-precautions steps above.
  • Local health authorities, workplaces, schools and healthcare settings may have stricter rules — follow those where they apply.

Groups at higher risk of severe illness

  • Adults 65 and older
  • People who are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccination
  • People with weakened immune systems
  • People with certain chronic conditions (for example heart, lung or kidney disease, diabetes)
  • People with certain disabilities
  • Pregnant people
  • Infants and young children (for some outcomes)
COVID-19 · OutbreakWatch