Quarantine after travel or COVID-19 exposure

If you've been exposed to COVID-19 or participated in a high-risk activity, quarantine at home for 10 days.

• When to quarantine
• Stay home and monitor your symptoms
• Stay away from others in your home
• When to end quarantine
• Links

When to quarantine

Quarantine after:

• Exposure: You need to quarantine if you have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

  You are considered a "close contact" if you were within 6 feet of someone infectious with COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. You may also be considered a close contact if you shared food or utensils with, had physical contact with, or were sneezed or coughed on by someone with COVID-19.

• Travel: Traveling outside of the Bay Area, especially traveling by plane, bus, train, or other shared transportation, increases your chances of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to others.

• High-risk activities: It's a good idea to quarantine after attending a large gathering or spending time with people you don't live with, especially indoors or without masks.

Stay home and monitor your symptoms

When quarantining, stay home for 10 days, starting from the date of your last exposure or high-risk activity.

Watch for symptoms for 14 days following exposure:

• fever (100.4◦F)
• cough
• shortness of breath
• other symptoms of COVID-19

Stay away from others in your home

As much as possible, avoid being near others - especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.

• Stay in a separate room if you can.
• When in the same room as others, everyone should wear face coverings. Open windows if it's safe to do so.
• Do not prepare or serve food to others. Keep your own set of utensils, plates, towels, bedding, or other household items. Do not share them.

When to end quarantine

Unless directed otherwise by Public Health, you should quarantine at home for 10 days and monitor your symptoms for 14 days following an exposure.

The quarantine period may be shorter or longer in certain cases:

• Public Health may mandate a full 14-day quarantine in cases where there is particularly high risk, such as congregate living settings.
• Healthcare workers and first responders may return to work after 7 days of quarantine if they are tested after the fifth day and receive a negative result.

Links

• When to quarantine (CDC)
• City of Berkeley Quarantine and Isolation Health Orders
• Home quarantine instructions: English | Spanish

Last updated December 22, 2020