Public Health Home
Acute Communicable Disease Control
County of Los Angeles
Department of Public Health
Acute Communicable Disease Control
313 N. Figueroa Street, #212
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-240-7941
Fax: 213-482-4856
Email: acdc2@ph.lacounty.gov
There is no specific treatment for the virus that causes COVID-19. Here are steps that you can take to help you get better:
Note that children younger than age 2 should not be given any over-the-counter cold medications without first speaking with a doctor.
Note that these medicines do not “cure” the illness and do not stop you from spreading germs.
Make a note of when your symptoms started and continue to monitor your health. Stay in touch with your doctor and seek prompt medical care if your symptoms get worse. People who are age 65 years and older or who have a health problem such as a chronic disease or a weak immune system may be at a higher risk of serious illness.
People with emergency warning signs should call 911. Tell the dispatch personnel that you have COVID-19. If it’s not urgent, call ahead before visiting your doctor, you may be able to get advice by phone.
COVID-19 may be stressful for people, visit ph.lacounty.gov/Coronavirus to learn how to care for your mental health and support your loved ones. If you need to speak with someone about your mental health, contact your doctor or the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Access Center 24/7 Helpline at (800) 854-7771. If you need help finding healthcare, call the Los Angeles County Information line 2-1-1, which is also available 24/7.
Follow the steps below to help prevent the disease from spreading to people in your home and your community.
You must stay home and separate yourself from others until your home isolation ends.
If you had symptoms, you must stay home until:
If you tested positive for COVID-19 but never had any symptoms:
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw used tissues in a lined trash can; immediately wash your hands.
Do not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home. Wash them thoroughly with soap and water after use.
Wash your hands often and thoroughly, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food. Use soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry. Use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
High touch surfaces include counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables. Also, clean and disinfect any surfaces that may have body fluids on them. Use household cleaning and disinfectant sprays or wipes, according to the product label instructions. See cleaning instructions in Preventing the spread of respiratory illness in the home on the Public Health Website.
When your home isolation ends (see box above) you are no longer infectious, and you can resume your usual activities, including returning to work and/or school. You do not need to have a negative test or a letter from Public Health to return to work or school.
A “close contact” is any of the following people who were exposed to an “*infected person” while they were infectious:
*An infected person is anyone with COVID-19, or who is suspected to have COVID-19, and is considered to be infectious from 48 hours before their symptoms first appeared until they are no longer required to be isolated. A person with a positive COVID-19 test but no symptoms is considered to be infectious from 48 hours before their test was taken until 10 days after their test.
You must tell all of your close contacts that they need to be in quarantine for 14 days after their last contact with you. You need to give them the home quarantine instructions which are available in multiple languages at ph.lacounty.gov/covidquarantine. Your close contacts must quarantine even if they feel well.
It is recommended that everyone stays at least 6 feet away from you while you are under home isolation. If this is not possible, anyone who continues to be in close contact with you will need to extend their quarantine period to 14 days from the last time they had close contact with you during your isolation period as explained in the home quarantine instructions.
Your caregivers and household contacts should wear a disposable facemask and gloves if they clean your room or bathroom or come into contact with your body fluids or secretions (such as sweat, saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, urine, or diarrhea). They should remove and dispose of their gloves first, clean their hands, then remove and dispose of their facemask, and clean their hands again. See cleaning instructions in Preventing the spread of respiratory illness in the home on the Public Health Website.
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Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.
