Common Symptoms of COVID-19

2 to 14 days after exposure, the following symptoms may appear:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

If you develop symptoms and have been in close contact with someone known to have COVID-19, or you’ve recently traveled from an area experiencing the spread of COVID-19, please consult your doctor immediately.

Protect Yourself from COVID-19

Until you have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the best way to stay safe is to avoid exposure to the virus. That means:

• Avoid close contact with those who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home when you’re sick.
• Cover coughing and sneezing with a tissue and discard it in the trash immediately after.
• Treat frequently touched objects and surfaces with standard cleaning and disinfecting agents routinely.
• Wear a mask in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. The mask is meant to protect other people in case you are sick.
• Wash your hands with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• Practice social distancing measures by standing or sitting at least six feet apart whenever possible.
• Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol handy for convenient cleaning when soap and water are unavailable.

How Businesses Can Help Keep Their Employees Safe from COVID-19

Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

Any employee showing signs of acute respiratory illness should stay home. They should stay out of the office until their fever is gone and they don’t show any signs of illness without medication for at least 24 hours.

Perform Routine Cleanings of Your Building

Every aspect of your workplace should be kept clean and sanitary, with professional cleanings scheduled regularly to clean desks, floors, countertops, doorknobs, bathrooms, eating spaces, and other areas. Commercial Cleaning Corporation uses state-of-the-art electrostatic disinfectant equipment and traditional cleaning methods to provide comprehensive cleaning solutions for all types of facilities. Electrostatic disinfecting is a fast and cost-effective supplement to standard cleaning regimens as a way of thoroughly applying sanitizers and disinfectants to surfaces, regardless of the shape or angle of the surface in question.

Take Precautions Before Traveling

If you or your employees travel outside of the US, check the CDC Traveler’s Health page for news, updates, guidance, and recommendations for each country you or your team will visit. If any employees are showing any signs of acute respiratory illness, they should notify their supervisor. If there is any indication at all that an employee is sick, they should not travel!

Emphasize Respiratory Etiquette and Hand Hygiene

Make your stance on sick employees staying home clear, and provide your employees with helpful CDC-issued guidelines for proper respiratory illness etiquette and hand hygiene. Provide easy access to tissues and hands-free waste containers for all employees. People should keep their hands clean with alcohol-based hand sanitizers or by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. For visibly dirty hands, soap and water are most effective.