COVID-19 FAQs

Those who should get tested for COVID-19 include people who:

• Have symptoms of COVID-19. Knowing what illness you have can help you get the right treatment.
• Have had close contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19
• Have been asked or referred to get tested by their healthcare provider or the Department of Health

• Wearing a well-fitted mask that fully covers your nose and mouth helps protect you from breathing in other people’s germs.
• Wearing a mask helps protect others from breathing in your germs.
• You can be contagious before you feel sick. Wearing a mask helps prevent accidental spread to others even when you feel well.
• Wearing a mask helps protect someone else’s loved one, who may be at higher risk of severe disease.

• Stay home until fever-free for 24 hours without using fever reducing medication AND other symptoms are mild and improving.
• When you return to your normal activities, take added precautions for 5 days, such as masking, good hygiene, and taking steps for cleaner air.

Ventilation mitigation strategies can help to reduce the concentration of viral particles in the air. The lower the concentration, the less likely that those viral particles can be inhaled into your lungs; contact your eyes, nose, and mouth; or fall out of the air to accumulate on surfaces. Protective ventilation practices and interventions can reduce the airborne concentration, which reduces the overall viral dose to occupants.

A few examples of ventilation methods you can implement:

• Open doors and windows to increase fresh air.
• Use fans to help bring fresh air indoors. Avoid placing fans in a way that could potentially cause contaminated air to flow directly from one person to another.
• Ensure restroom exhaust fans are functional and operating at full capacity when the building is occupied.
• Clean your air conditioning (HVAC) filters regularly, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Check filters to ensure they are within their service life and appropriately installed.
• Make sure your building’s air conditioning (HVAC) system is up-to-date and cleaned regularly, according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Consider portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems to help enhance air cleaning (especially in higher risk areas such as a nurse’s office or areas frequently inhabited by persons with higher likelihood of COVID-19 and/or increased risk of getting COVID-19).Learn how to improve ventilation in your home: Improving Ventilation in Your Home | CDC.

More information about preventing respiratory illness, including COVID-19, can be found here: Respiratory Viruses | Disease Outbreak Control Division (hawaii.gov)