If You Are a Close Contact

Page last updated/reviewed 07/31/2024.

What is a close contact?

A close contact is defined as:

• In indoor spaces of 400,000 or fewer cubic feet per floor (such as homes, clinic waiting rooms, airplanes, etc.), sharing the same indoor airspace 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) during a confirmed case's infectious period.
• In large indoor spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor (such as open-floor-plan offices, warehouses, large retail stores, manufacturing, or food processing facilities), being within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the confirmed case's infectious period.

Spaces that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls (e.g., offices, suites, rooms, waiting areas, bathrooms, or break or eating areas that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls) must be considered distinct indoor airspaces.

Recommendations for Close Contacts

If you have, or are likely to have, COVID-19, take steps to protect yourself and others. If you have any emergency warning signs, seek emergency care immediately.

Additional Recommendations

• For healthcare personnel (HCP) working in settings such as acute care hospitals​​, psychiatric hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) covered by AFL 21-08.9 should continue to follow the guidance outlined in AFL 21-08.9. HCP working in settings not covered by AFL 21-08.9 may also follow the guidance outlined in AFL 21-08.9. Healthcare facilities should follow the guidance for exposed or infected patients/residents in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Infection Control Guidance
  •  Other healthcare settings not covered by AFL 21-08.9 include, for example, outpatient clinics, free-standing urgent care facilities, dental clinics, pharmacies, infusion centers, behavioral health clinics, and school clinics.    
• High-Risk Settings: Non-healthcare high-risk settings (for example, Adult and Senior Care Facilities, correctional ​facilities, homeless and emergency shelters, and warming/cooling centers) may consider following healthcare personnel recommendations, or may follow the isolation and exposure recommendations that are applicable to the general public, as detailed in the California Department of Public Health COVID-19 Isolation Guidance depending on the population served and level of risk for severe disease.
• For guidance on the management of infected and exposed people in K–12 school and child care settings, see the Guidance for K-12 Schools and Child Care Settings to Mitigate the Spread of Communicable Disease, 2023 -2024 School Year.  

High-Risk Settings (Work Exclusion or Quarantine)

Recommendations for BOTH staff and residents:

• Follow the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidance for masking or face coverings. Close contacts should mask for 10 days following an exposure to someone with COVID-19, especially high-risk contacts.
• Strongly encouraged to get vaccinated or boosted.
• If symptoms develop, stay home and test as soon as possible, AND
• If your test result is positive, follow isolation recommendations and visit our What To Do If Sick webpage.

NOTE: It is recommended that while not excluded from work, vaccinated and boosted healthcare personnel working in high-risk settings test immediately upon notification of exposure and at 3-5 days.

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