COVID-19

About COVID-19

COVID-19 is an illness that is spread by a virus known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). People first got sick from this virus in 2019. It often causes coughing or breathing problems, which may range from mild to severe.

People with COVID-19 release tiny droplets into the air when they cough, sneeze, talk or breathe. These small particles can enter your body through your mouth, nose or eyes, then cause illness. That’s how the virus spreads from person to person.

Symptoms

People with COVID-19 may have no symptoms at all, or they may have any combination of:

Fever, cough, shortness of breath or trouble breathing.
Loss of taste or smell, fatigue, chills.
Muscle aches, headache, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose.
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

COVID-19 Testing

If you think that you have COVID-19 symptoms, take a COVID-19 test.

At-home COVID-19 tests are sold at local stores and pharmacies and online. They may be covered by insurance. Check this website to check availability of free COVID-19 tests from the federal government.

You may also seek COVID-19 testing at your doctor’s office or an urgent care center if you require medical care. Do not use the emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you also require emergency care, such as for severe difficulty breathing.

COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring and Virtual Care Program for Businesses

For the protection of your valued employees, you can partner with ChristianaCare’s Center for Virtual Health for COVID-19 monitoring.

Learn more

Preventing COVID-19

There are many ways to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community against COVID-19. Click here to see how and read about vaccines below.

COVID-19 Vaccines

Stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines. Click here or talk with your health care provider about what is recommended for you and your loved ones.

Click here to find a vaccination site near you.

What to do if you are exposed to COVID-19

Wear a mask as soon as you find out you were exposed and continue to mask for 10 full days (day 0 is the day of your last exposure to someone with COVID-19).
Wear a high-quality mask or respirator (N95 or KN95) when you are around others inside your home or indoors in public.
Take extra precautions if you will be around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.
Watch for symptoms (such as fever, cough, shortness of breath).
If you develop symptoms:
- Isolate immediately.
- Get tested.
- Stay home until you know the result.

For the Love of Health Podcast

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine specifically and vaccinations in general, including effectiveness, safety tracking, and specific guidelines and recommendations, on the Vaccinations 101 episode of the ChristianaCare podcast, For the Love of Health.

More Episodes

Treatment and Recovery

Treatment at Home

Most people with mild cases of COVID-19 will recover at home, without medical care.

Rest, drink fluids and take over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever and body aches.
Wash your hands often.
Wear a high-quality mask (N95 or KN95) around other people in your home.
You may end isolation 5 days after symptom onset (day 0 is the day symptoms started, and day 1 is the next full day) if your fever is gone for at least 24 hours (without taking fever-reducing medications) and other symptoms are improving. Continue to wear your mask when around others for an additional 5 days.

Treatment at ChristianaCare

ChristianaCare offers treatments, including oral antiviral medications, to help people at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 reduce their risk of hospitalization or death.

Don’t delay: To be effective, treatment must begin within 5 to 7 days of your first symptoms. Talk with your health care provider about treatment options.
If you don’t have a health care provider, call our Center for Virtual Health at 302-428-2400 and click option 3; our team can help with navigating treatment.
The Treatment Locator (hhs.gov) can also help you find a location that offers testing and treatment or a pharmacy where you can fill your prescription.

When to seek emergency medical attention

Call 911 or seek emergency medical attention immediately if you or a loved one:

Has trouble breathing.
Experience persistent chest pain or pressure.
Experience new confusion.
Cannot stay awake or be awakened.
Has skin, lips or nail beds that are blue, gray or pale.

Treating Long COVID-19: ChristianaCare’s Virtual COVID-19 Recovery Clinic

The ChristianaCare Center for Virtual Health offers an online clinic for patients with Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19, also known as long COVID, who have debilitating symptoms at least eight weeks after initial onset of COVID-19.

This multidisciplinary clinic has a primary care provider, pharmacist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, sports medicine physician, neurologist, endocrinologist and psychologist.

There are two ways to be referred to this practice:

If you have a primary care clinician or specialist who is at ChristianaCare, they can directly place a referral in the electronic health record.
You or your doctor (if outside of ChristianaCare) can call 302-428-2400, click option 5, and provide demographic information along with dates of your COVID-19 infection.

Once you are referred, the Virtual COVID-19 recovery team will work with you to create a personalized care plan. Patients are monitored at home as needed and stay connected to the clinical team via a secure texting platform. Virtual group therapy is offered to every patient.