Symptoms of COVID-19
- Around four in every five people who contract COVID-19 recover without needing to go to hospital. There is a range of symptoms and severity. Symptoms may include fever, dry cough, productive cough (less common), headache, abdominal pain with diarrhoea, loss of sense of smell, reduced appetite, aching muscles and fatigue.
- Our greatest concern is that there may be a deterioration with shortness of breath due to viral pneumonia. This usually occurs around day 5 to 8 following the onset of symptoms and may require hospital admission. Around 1 in 5 of people with COVID-19 need to be admitted to hospital. This worsening may occur even after there has been an improvement in symptoms.
- There may be another more serious deterioration and worsening breathing difficulties around day 12 following the onset of symptoms. This may require treatment in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and may include ventilation. Around 5% (1 in 20) of total cases need ICU treatment. Those with more severe symptoms may be unwell for three weeks or more before recovering.
- Those who are at increased risk of becoming very unwell with COVID-19 are those who are older and/or those with chronic disease such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and cancer.
- Our greatest concern is that there may be a deterioration with shortness of breath due to viral pneumonia. This usually occurs around day 5 to 8 following the onset of symptoms and may require hospital admission. Around 1 in 5 of people with COVID-19 need to be admitted to hospital. This worsening may occur even after there has been an improvement in symptoms.
- There may be another more serious deterioration and worsening breathing difficulties around day 12 following the onset of symptoms. This may require treatment in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and may include ventilation. Around 5% (1 in 20) of total cases need ICU treatment. Those with more severe symptoms may be unwell for three weeks or more before recovering.
- Those who are at increased risk of becoming very unwell with COVID-19 are those who are older and/or those with chronic disease such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and cancer.
What is the difference between ISOLATION and QUARANTINE?
Isolation - a person needs to isolate if they have or are suspected to have COVID-19.
Steps you need to take in isolation
If you are not at home when you find out you have COVID-19, you must go straight home. You cannot stop anywhere, not even to buy medicine or groceries. Where possible, use personal transport such as a private car.
You must stay isolated until your public health authority advises you are safe to leave. If you leave isolation without permission you may face criminal charges or a fine.
Isolation means you:
If you live in a house, you may go into your garden or courtyard. You can go onto your balcony if you live in an apartment or are staying in a hotel.
Quarantine - Quarantine is when you are well but may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19. If this happens they will be required to isolate from other people to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine period is 14 days from when you may have been in contact with the virus.
If a public health authority directs you to, you must go into a mandatory 14-day period of quarantine. During this time they will monitor you.
You will need to go into quarantine if you:
If you test positive you will need to go into isolation. Anyone who has been in your household is a close contact and must then go into quarantine.
Steps you need to take in isolation
If you are not at home when you find out you have COVID-19, you must go straight home. You cannot stop anywhere, not even to buy medicine or groceries. Where possible, use personal transport such as a private car.
You must stay isolated until your public health authority advises you are safe to leave. If you leave isolation without permission you may face criminal charges or a fine.
Isolation means you:
- must not leave your home except in an emergency or to get essential medical care
- must not go into public places including work and shops
- must not let any other person into your home unless the person
- lives with you and cannot live with someone else
- is providing medical care for you
- is entering for an emergency
If you live in a house, you may go into your garden or courtyard. You can go onto your balcony if you live in an apartment or are staying in a hotel.
Quarantine - Quarantine is when you are well but may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19. If this happens they will be required to isolate from other people to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine period is 14 days from when you may have been in contact with the virus.
If a public health authority directs you to, you must go into a mandatory 14-day period of quarantine. During this time they will monitor you.
You will need to go into quarantine if you:
- have returned home from overseas
- have been in contact with someone who has confirmed or is likely to have COVID-19
- are entering certain remote areas in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory (unless exempt)
- are entering a state that has a required quarantine period
If you test positive you will need to go into isolation. Anyone who has been in your household is a close contact and must then go into quarantine.
Communicable Disease Control
If you are notified that you have a positive result for COVID-19 you will be contacted by The Public Health Unit. Their immediate priority is contact tracing to prevent further spread in the community. They will assess who has been a ‘close contact’ with you while you were potentially infectious. Close contact is someone who has been in face to face contact with you for at least 15 minutes or been in the same closed space for at least 2 hours.
‘Close contacts’ will be contacted and advised they need to go into quarantine. Those who have been in contact with you but are not ‘close contacts’ do not need to quarantine but are advised to monitor for any symptoms.
The Public Health Unit will also try to work out how and where you were infected with COVID-19.
The Public Health Unit will send you information on how to isolate via email. Please access the link below for more information. The Public Health Unit will send you a text every day to monitor your symptoms. If you have any symptoms of concern, they will call you to see if you need further assessment. Your regular GP may also call to check on you. You may also make a telephone appointment with your GP at any time.
‘Close contacts’ will be contacted and advised they need to go into quarantine. Those who have been in contact with you but are not ‘close contacts’ do not need to quarantine but are advised to monitor for any symptoms.
The Public Health Unit will also try to work out how and where you were infected with COVID-19.
The Public Health Unit will send you information on how to isolate via email. Please access the link below for more information. The Public Health Unit will send you a text every day to monitor your symptoms. If you have any symptoms of concern, they will call you to see if you need further assessment. Your regular GP may also call to check on you. You may also make a telephone appointment with your GP at any time.
When can I be released from isolation?
If you have recovered, the Public Health Unit will advise when you are permitted to be released from isolation.
In general, you can be released if:
· at least 10 days have passed since the onset of first symptoms
· AND at least 72 hours have passed since the resolution of symptoms.
If you are a healthcare or aged care worker, you additionally require:
· No fever for 48 hours
· AND no symptoms for 24 hours
· AND at least seven days since onset of first symptoms
· AND two negative tests, collected at least 24 hours apart, after feeling well.
The Public Health Unit will write to your GP advising that you may be released from isolation. You will be asked to make an appointment with your GP after seven days to check on your recovery. You will also be invited to have a blood test to check your antibody levels. This test is still under development so your blood will be stored until the test is ready.
In general, you can be released if:
· at least 10 days have passed since the onset of first symptoms
· AND at least 72 hours have passed since the resolution of symptoms.
If you are a healthcare or aged care worker, you additionally require:
· No fever for 48 hours
· AND no symptoms for 24 hours
· AND at least seven days since onset of first symptoms
· AND two negative tests, collected at least 24 hours apart, after feeling well.
The Public Health Unit will write to your GP advising that you may be released from isolation. You will be asked to make an appointment with your GP after seven days to check on your recovery. You will also be invited to have a blood test to check your antibody levels. This test is still under development so your blood will be stored until the test is ready.
What about members of my household?
If you have household contacts and they have ongoing contact with you (e.g. sharing a bathroom, living area or other common areas), they will need to continue in quarantine for 14 days AFTER you have been released from isolation. The Public Health Unit will be in regular contact with them and will advise when they can be released from quarantine. You can reduce this time by isolating from your household contacts while infectious (see link above on how to do this), however, it is not always practical to do this.
Australia is thankfully seeing a flattening of the curve at present. In order to maintain a lower number of cases, we all need to continue without ongoing care with social distancing and good hand hygiene.
Australia is thankfully seeing a flattening of the curve at present. In order to maintain a lower number of cases, we all need to continue without ongoing care with social distancing and good hand hygiene.