Respiratory Virus Guidance as of March 1, 2024
[This includes COVID-19, Influenza, AND Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)]
When you have a respiratory virus:
- If you have symptoms of a respiratory virus that are not caused by something else, stay home and avoid contact with others.
- Symptoms may include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache.
- Symptoms may include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache.
- You can resume your normal activities when you meet both of these criteria for at least 24 hours:
- Your symptoms are getting better overall, AND
- You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
- When you go back to normal activities, it is recommended to take added precautions over the next 5 days, such as steps for cleaner air, respiratory hygiene, mask use when indoors around others, physical distancing.
- Remember to follow and encourage general infection control measures can help to limit the spread of illnesses. Infection control measures include:
- Hand washing (Remember that some germs such as Norovirus are resistant to alcohol-based hand sanitizers.) o Respiratory hygiene/Covering coughs and sneezes.
- Staying home and away from others when sick.
- Cleaning and sanitizing, especially common touch surfaces
- Ensure the effectiveness of the cleaning agents in killing bacteria and viruses, it is important to follow the instructions on the label regarding the contact times. Contact times refer to the duration that the cleaning agent needs to stay wet on the surface being cleaned.
For additional information, please click on the links below for the Gwinnett Newton Rockdale (GNR) Health Department and the CDC (documents are in English and Spanish):
- GNR Health department “Too Sick for Work/School” guidance: https://www.gnrhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Too-Sick-for-Work-or-School-English-and-Spanish.pdf
- CDC guidance for Preventing the Spread of Respiratory Viruses when sick: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratoryviruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html