“Right now I’m recommending to my family and to people who are asking that outdoor activities that are solitary or done in parallel with someone who is far away is fine,” said Carolyn C. Cannuscio, associate professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. “We’re trying to avoid face to face contact, especially in close up and confined spaces.”
Who should do this? Everyone who lives in an area with a mandatory shelter-in-place order, including some communities in Northern California and possibly, soon, New York City. But many infectious disease experts say that everyone else should also voluntarily shelter in place to prevent the virus from spreading. “People should really be keeping to themselves,” said Dr. Kryssie Woods, hospital epidemiologist and director of infection prevention at Mount Sinai West.
Self-Monitoring
This means regularly checking your temperature and watching for signs of coronavirus infection, including fever, shortness of breath and coughing. A person who is self-monitoring should already be staying home and limiting interactions with others.
Who should do this? Self-monitoring is for people who learn they might have been exposed to the virus but had only distant contact with the infected person. This might be someone in your orbit — for example, a colleague, a speaker at a conference or the parent of your child’s classmate — but not a person with whom you had close physical contact. Consult with your doctor to see if self-monitoring is recommended for your specific situation.
Self-Quarantine
This term is used to separate and restrict the movement of someone who is well but who recently had close contact with a person who later was diagnosed with the virus. A person in self-quarantine should follow all the rules of sheltering in place, except they should avoid going to stores or interacting with the public even on a limited basis for a 14-day period. (A friend should bring you groceries.)
Quarantine means staying home and away from other people, including those in your household, as much as possible, for a 14-day quarantine period. A person in self-quarantine should sleep in a separate space from family members.
Who should do this? Anyone who does not have symptoms, but who had close contact with someone who later became ill.
