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Quarantine &
Isolation
Updated Jan. 27, 2022 Languages

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When to Stay Home

Quarantine

Isolation

Recommendations for Speci!c Settings

Ongoing COVID-19 Exposure FAQs

Quarantine
If you were exposed
Quarantine and stay away from others
when you have been in close contact
with someone who has COVID-19.

Isolate
If you are sick or test positive
Isolate when you are sick or when you
have COVID-19, even if you don’t have
symptoms.

When to Stay Home

Calculating Quarantine
The date of your exposure is considered
day 0. Day 1 is the !rst full day after
your last contact with a person who
has had COVID-19. Stay home and
away from other people for at least 5
days. Learn why CDC updated guidance
for the general public.

IF YOU
Were exposed to COVID-19 and
are NOT up-to-date on COVID-19
vaccinations

Quarantine for at least 5 days

Stay home
Stay home and quarantine for at least 5
full days.

Wear a well-!tted mask if you must be

around others in your home.

Do not travel
travel.

Get tested
Even if you don’t develop symptoms, get
tested at least 5 days after you last had
close contact with someone with COVID-
19.

After quarantine

Watch for symptoms

Watch for symptoms until 10 days after
you last had close contact with someone
with COVID-19.

Avoid travel
It is best to avoid travel until a full 10
days after you last had close contact
with someone with COVID-19.

If you develop symptoms

Isolate immediately and get tested.
Continue to stay home until you know
the results. Wear a well-!tted mask
around others.

Take precautions until day 10

Wear a mask
Wear a well-!tted mask for 10 full days
any time you are around others inside
your home or in public. Do not go to
places where you are unable to wear a
mask.

If you must travel during days 6-10,

take precautions
precautions..

Avoid being around people who are

at high risk

IF YOU
Were exposed to COVID-19 and
are up-to-date on COVID-19
vaccinations

No quarantine
You do not need to stay
home unless you develop symptoms.

Get tested
Even if you don’t develop symptoms, get
tested at least 5 days after you last had
close contact with someone with COVID-
19.

Watch for symptoms

Watch for symptoms until 10 days after
you last had close contact with someone
with COVID-19.

If you develop symptoms

Isolate immediately and get tested.
Continue to stay home until you know
the results. Wear a well-!tted mask
around others.

Take precautions until day 10

Wear a mask
Wear a well-!tted mask for 10 full days
any time you are around others inside
your home or in public. Do not go to
places where you are unable to wear a
mask.

Take precautions if traveling

Avoid being around people who are

at high risk

IF YOU
were exposed to COVID-19 and
had con!rmed COVID-19 within
the past 90 days (you tested
positive using a viral test)

No quarantine
You do not need to stay home unless
you develop symptoms.

Watch for symptoms

Watch for symptoms until 10 days after
you last had close contact with someone
with COVID-19.

If you develop symptoms

Isolate immediately and get tested.
Continue to stay home until you know
the results. Wear a well-!tted mask
around others.

Take precautions until day 10

Wear a mask
Wear a well-!tted mask for 10 full days
any time you are around others inside
your home or in public. Do not go to
places where you are unable to wear a
mask.

Take precautions if traveling

Avoid being around people who are

at high risk

Calculating Isolation
Day 0 is your !rst day of symptoms or a
positive viral test. Day 1 is the !rst full
day after your symptoms developed
or your test specimen was collected
collected.
If you have COVID-19 or have symptoms,
isolate for at least 5 days.

IF YOU
Tested positive for COVID-19 or
have symptoms, regardless of
vaccination status

Stay home for at least 5 days

Stay home for 5 days and isolate from
others in your home.

Wear a well-!tted mask if you must be

around others in your home.

Do not travel
travel.

Ending isolation if you had

symptoms
End isolation after 5 full days if you are
fever-free for 24 hours (without the use
of fever-reducing medication) and your
symptoms are improving.

Ending isolation if you did NOT

have symptoms
End isolation after at least 5 full days
after your positive test.

If you were severely ill with COVID-

19 or are immunocompromised
You should isolate for at least 10 days.
Consult your doctor before ending
isolation.

Take precautions until day 10

Wear a mask
Wear a well-!tted mask for 10 full days
any time you are around others inside
your home or in public. Do not go to
places where you are unable to wear a
mask.

Do not travel
Do not travel until a full 10 days after
your symptoms started or the date your
positive test was taken if you had no
symptoms.

Avoid being around people who are

at high risk

DEFINITIONS
Exposure
Contact with someone infected with
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-
19, in a way that increases the likelihood
of getting infected with the virus.

Close Contact
A close contact is someone who was less
than 6 feet away from an infected
person (laboratory-con!rmed or a
clinical diagnosis) for a cumulative total
of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour
period. For example, three individual 5-
minute exposures for a total of 15
minutes. People who are exposed to
someone with COVID-19 after they
completed at least 5 days of isolation are
not considered close contacts.

Quarantine
Quarantine is a strategy used to prevent
transmission of COVID-19 by keeping people
who have been in close contact with
someone with COVID-19 apart from others.

Who does not need to

quarantine?
If you had close contact with someone with
COVID-19 and you are in one of the following
groups, you do not need to quarantine
quarantine.

• You are up to date with your COVID-19

vaccines.

• You had con!rmed COVID-19 within the

last 90 days (meaning you tested
positive using a viral test).

You should wear a well-!tting mask around

others for 10 days from the date of your last
close contact with someone with COVID-19
(the date of last close contact is considered
day 0). Get tested at least 5 days after you
last had close contact with someone with
COVID-19. If you test positive or develop
COVID-19 symptoms, isolate from other
people and follow recommendations in the
Isolation section below. If you tested positive
for COVID-19 with a viral test within the
previous 90 days and subsequently
recovered and remain without COVID-19
symptoms, you do not need to quarantine or
get tested after close contact. You should
wear a well-!tting mask around others for 10
days from the date of your last close contact
with someone with COVID-19 (the date of last
close contact is considered day 0).

Who should quarantine?

If you come into close contact with someone
with COVID-19, you should quarantine if you
are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.
This includes people who are not vaccinated.

What to do for quarantine

• Stay home and away from other people
for at least 5 days (day 0 through day 5)
after your last contact with a person
who has COVID-19. The date of your
exposure is considered day 0. Wear
a well-!tting mask when around others
at home, if possible.

• For 10 days after your last close contact

with someone with COVID-19, watch for
fever (100.4◦F or greater), cough,
shortness of breath, or other COVID-19
symptoms.

• If you develop symptoms, get tested

immediately and isolate until you
receive your test results. If you test
positive, follow
isolation recommendations.

• If you do not develop symptoms, get

tested at least 5 days after you last had
close contact with someone with COVID-
19.
- If you test negative, you can leave
your home, but continue to wear
a well-!tting mask when around
others at home and in public until
10 days after your last close
contact with someone with COVID-
19.
- If you test positive, you should
isolate for at least 5 days from the
date of your positive test (if you do
not have symptoms). If you do
develop COVID-19 symptoms,
isolate for at least 5 days from the
date your symptoms began (the
date the symptoms started is day
0). Follow recommendations in the
isolation section below.
- If you are unable to get a test 5
days after last close contact with
someone with COVID-19, you can
leave your home after day 5 if you
have been without COVID-19
symptoms throughout the 5-day
period. Wear a well-!tting mask for
10 days after your date of last
close contact when around others
at home and in public.
- Avoid people who
are immunocompromised or at
high risk for severe disease, and
nursing homes and other high-risk
settings, until after at least 10 days.

• If possible, stay away from people you

live with, especially people who are
at higher risk for getting very sick from
COVID-19, as well as others outside your
home throughout the full 10 days after
your last close contact with someone
with COVID-19.

• If you are unable to quarantine, you

should wear a well-!tting mask for 10
days when around others at home and
in public.

• If you are unable to wear a mask when

around others, you should continue to
quarantine for 10 days. Avoid people
who are immunocompromised or at
high risk for severe disease, and nursing
homes and other high-risk settings, until
after at least 10 days.

• See additional information about travel.

• Do not go to places where you are

unable to wear a mask, such as
restaurants and some gyms, and avoid
eating around others at home and at
work until after 10 days after your last
close contact with someone with COVID-
19.

After quarantine
• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after
your last close contact with someone
with COVID-19.

• If you have symptoms, isolate

immediately and get tested.

Quarantine in high-risk
congregate settings
In certain congregate settings that have high
risk of secondary transmission (such as
correctional and detention facilities,
homeless shelters, or cruise ships), CDC
recommends a 10-day quarantine for
residents, regardless of vaccination and
booster status. During periods of critical
sta"ng shortages, facilities may consider
shortening the quarantine period for sta# to
ensure continuity of operations. Decisions to
shorten quarantine in these settings should
be made in consultation with state, local,
tribal, or territorial health departments and
should take into consideration the context
and characteristics of the facility.
CDC’s setting-speci!c guidance provides
additional recommendations for these
settings.

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Isolation
Isolation is used to separate people with
con!rmed or suspected COVID-19 from
those without COVID-19. People who are in
isolation should stay home until it’s safe for
them to be around others. At home, anyone
sick or infected should separate from others,
or wear a well-!tting mask when they need
to be around others. People in isolation
should stay in a speci!c “sick room” or area
and use a separate bathroom if available.
Everyone who has presumed or con!rmed
COVID-19 should stay home and isolate from
other people for at least 5 full days (day 0 is
the !rst day of symptoms or the date of the
day of the positive viral test for
asymptomatic persons). They should wear a
mask when around others at home and in
public for an additional 5 days. People who
are con!rmed to have COVID-19 or are
showing symptoms of COVID-19 need to
isolate regardless of their vaccination status.
This includes:

• People who have a positive viral test for

COVID-19, regardless of whether or not
they have symptoms.

• People with symptoms of COVID-19,

including people who are awaiting test
results or have not been tested. People
with symptoms should isolate even if
they do not know if they have been in
close contact with someone with COVID-
19.

What to do for isolation

• Monitor your symptoms. If you have
an emergency warning sign (including
trouble breathing), seek emergency
medical care immediately.

• Stay in a separate room from other

household members, if possible.

• Use a separate bathroom, if possible.

• Take steps to improve ventilation at

home, if possible.

• Avoid contact with other members of

the household and pets.

• Don’t share personal household items,

like cups, towels, and utensils.

• Wear a well-!tting mask when you need

to be around other people.

Learn more about what to do if you are

sick and how to notify your contacts.

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Ending isolation for

people who had
COVID-19 and had
symptoms
If you had COVID-19 and had symptoms,
isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate your 5-
day isolation period, day 0 is your !rst day of
symptoms. Day 1 is the !rst full
day after your symptoms developed. You can
leave isolation after 5 full days.

• You can end isolation after 5 full days if

you are fever-free for 24 hours without
the use of fever-reducing medication
and your other symptoms have
improved (Loss of taste and smell may
persist for weeks or months after
recovery and need not delay the end of
isolation​).

• You should continue to wear a well-

!tting mask around others at home and
in public for 5 additional days (day 6
through day 10) after the end of your 5-
day isolation period. If you are unable to
wear a mask when around others, you
should continue to isolate for a full 10
days. Avoid people who
are immunocompromised or at high
risk for severe disease, and nursing
homes and other high-risk settings, until
after at least 10 days.

• If you continue to have fever or your

other symptoms have not improved
after 5 days of isolation, you should wait
to end your isolation until you are fever-
free for 24 hours without the use of
fever-reducing medication and your
other symptoms have improved.
Continue to wear a well-!tting mask.
Contact your healthcare provider if you
have questions.

• See additional information about travel.

• Do not go to places where you are

unable to wear a mask, such as
restaurants and some gyms, and avoid
eating around others at home and at
work until a full 10 days after your !rst
day of symptoms.

If an individual has access to a test and wants

to test, the best approach is to use an
antigen test1 towards the end of the 5-day
isolation period. Collect the test sample only
if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the
use of fever-reducing medication and your
other symptoms have improved (loss of taste
and smell may persist for weeks or months
after recovery and need not delay the end of
isolation). If your test result is positive, you
should continue to isolate until day 10. If
your test result is negative, you can end
isolation, but continue to wear a well-!tting
mask around others at home and in public
until day 10. Follow additional
recommendations for masking and avoiding
travel as described above.

1As noted in the labeling for authorized over-

the counter antigen tests " : Negative results
should be treated as presumptive. Negative
results do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection
and should not be used as the sole basis for