If You Are Sick

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Page originally published 1/11/2024. Page last updated 6/18/2026.

If you have symptoms, and/or test positive, for a respiratory virus, take steps to protect yourself and others. On this page, recommendations and resources for:

If you have any emergency warning signs (like trouble breathing or chest pain) seek emergency care immediately. See COVID-19, flu, and RSV for a list of emergency signs.

Steps Individuals Can Take

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  • Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick). 
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  • Check your symptoms and follow your doctor's instructions.
    • Rest, drink fluids, and use over-the-counter medicines for fever as needed.
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  • Go back to normal activities when:
    • You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours, and
    • Symptoms are getting better overall.

When going back to normal activities, take added steps for safety over the next 5 days:

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  • Wear a high-quality mask or respirator when around others, especially people at higher risk.
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  • Open windows to improve air flow, purify indoor air, or gather outdoors for cleaner air.
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  • Keep distance from others, especially people at higher risk for severe illness from respiratory viruses. This includes older adults, young children, people with weakened immune systems, people with disabilities, and pregnant people.
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  •  Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning high-touch surfaces (such as countertops, handrails, and doorknobs).
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  • Test to help decide what to do next, like get treatment.  
    • If you have COVID-19 or flu, treatment may be an option to make your symptoms less severe and shorten the time you are sick.
    • Medications for COVID-19 and the flu work best when started right after symptoms begin.

If you do not have symptoms but test positive for a respiratory virus:

  • You may be contagious.
  • For the next 5 days, take added precautions (such as masks, cleaner air, physical distance, hygiene, and testing) when around others indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.

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Workplace, Healthcare, School, and Child Care Settings

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) offers guidance for different settings, including workplace, healthcare, school, and child care settings.

  • Workplace
    • As of February 3, 2026, there will no longer be a specific set of regulatory requirements relating to COVID-19 prevention in the workplace.
    • Employers must:
      • Maintain a safe and healthful place of employment as required by Labor Code section 6400.
      • Establish, implement, and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) as required by Title 8, California Code of Regulations, section 3203.
    • Ventilation interventions, like upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) can help business and employers stay protected from exposures to SARS-CoV-2 through multiple layers.
    • CDPH has recommendations to help keep staff and employees safe and healthy.
  • Schools and Child Care Programs
    • See the TK-12 School Guidance for information on the management of infected and exposed people in K-12 school and child care settings.​​

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Call the Immunization Unit at (866) 358-2966, or send an  e-mail, for more information.