Suspected or Confirmed Exposure Response

The City of Largo has been consistently following CDC Guidance throughout our response to COVID-19. These guidelines are changing within this dynamic climate.
Important Note: The CDC defines all government facility workers as “Critical Infrastructure Workers.”

If you are feeling ill in any way check your symptoms on the CDC Coronus Self-Checker.

If a team member tests positive or has suspected or confirmed exposure, the City of Largo will be following CDC guidance for Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers. Please review the guidance below for possible exposure in the workplace.

*All procedures are subject to change based on updates to CDC guidance.

POTENTIAL CONTACT
Close contact with a person who lives in their household and has COVID-19
(Defining Close Contact)

The following applies to those team members who have close contact with a person who lives in their household and has COVID-19

Scenario 1: Live with the person but can avoid further close contact
I live with someone who has COVID-19 (e.g., roommate, partner, family member), and that person has isolated by staying in a separate bedroom. I have had no close contact with the person since they isolated.

Your last day of quarantine is 14 days from when the person with COVID-19 began home isolation.

Date person with COVID-19 began home isolation + 14 days = end of quarantine.



Scenario 2: Under quarantine and had additional close contact with someone who has COVID-19
I live with someone who has COVID-19 and started my 14-day quarantine period because we had close contact. What if I ended up having close contact with the person who is sick during my quarantine? What if another household member gets sick with COVID-19? Do I need to restart my quarantine?

Yes. You will have to restart your quarantine from the last day you had close contact with anyone in your house who has COVID-19. Any time a new household member gets sick with COVID-19 and you had close contact, you will need to restart your quarantine.

Date of additional close contact with a person who has COVID-19 + 14 days = end of quarantine.



Scenario 3: Live with someone who has COVID-19 and cannot avoid continued close contact
I live in a household where I cannot avoid close contact with the person who has COVID-19. I am providing direct care to the person who is sick, don’t have a separate bedroom to isolate the person who is sick, or live in close quarters where I am unable to keep a physical distance of 6 feet.

You should avoid contact with others outside the home while the person is sick, and quarantine for 14 days after the person who has COVID-19 meets the criteria to end home isolation.

Date the person with COVID-19 ends home isolation + 14 days = end of quarantine.



POTENTIAL CONTACT
Close contact with someone who doesn’t live in their household and has COVID-19

If the exposed individual is asymptomatic:
To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID19, provided they remain asymptomatic, and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. 

Review the complete CDC interim guidance for Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person With Suspected or Confirmed COVID19. 

Additional precautions:

• Employers will pre-screen employee's temperature and assess symptoms before the individual enters the facility. If the fever is 100.4 or greater, individuals will be sent home.
• Employees should self-monitor symptoms
• Employees must wear a face mask at all times while in the workplace for 14 days after the last exposure.
• Employees should maintain 6 feet and practice social distancing as work duties permit in the workplace.

If the exposed individual is symptomatic:
They should not report to the workplace and contact their immediate supervisor. If they become sick during the day, they should be sent home immediately. If symptoms are COVID-19 related, they may not return to the workplace until they are symptom-free, appropriate time has passed (see time-based strategy), or received a negative COVID-19 test. Information on persons who had contact with the ill employee during the time the employee had symptoms and 2 days prior to symptoms should be compiled.

What counts as close contact?

• You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes without wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
• You provided care at home to someone who has COVID-19
• You had direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed them)
• You shared eating or drinking utensils
• They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you
  

RETURN TO WORK
Team Members that Tests Positive COVID-19

Time-based or symptom-based strategy:
A test-based strategy is no longer recommended because, in the majority of cases, it results in excluding team members from work who continue to shed detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA but are no longer infectious.

For Team Members who have COVID-19 who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation and return to work under the following conditions:

• 10 days after symptoms first appeared and under the following conditions
• At least 24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications
  
• Symptoms have improved (e.g., cough, shortness of breath)

For Team Members who have COVID-19 who have NOT had symptoms but tested positive and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation and return to work under the following conditions:

• 10 days since test has passed

* Depending on your healthcare provider’s advice and availability of testing, you might get tested to see if you still have COVID-19. If you are tested, you can be around others when you have no fever, respiratory symptoms have improved, and you receive a negative test result.

If you develop symptoms after testing positive, follow the guidance above for Persons who have COVID-19 who have symptoms.