COVID-19 Terms Defined
Take note of these terms from the CDC surrounding COVID-19 and click here for additional terminology.
Close contact is defined as: a) being within approximately six feet (two meters) of a COVID-19 case for a prolonged period of time; close contact can occur while caring for, living with, visiting, or sharing a healthcare waiting area or room with a COVID-19 case, or b) having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 case (e.g., being coughed on).
Symptoms compatible with COVID-19 include subjective or measured fever, cough, or difficulty breathing.
Isolation means the separation of a person or group of people known or reasonably believed to be infected with a communicable disease and potentially infectious from those who are not infected to prevent spread of the communicable disease. Isolation for public health purposes may be voluntary or compelled by federal, state, or local public health order.
Quarantine means the separation of a person or group of people reasonably believed to have been exposed to a communicable disease but not yet symptomatic, from others who have not been so exposed, to prevent the possible spread of the communicable disease.
Social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately six feet or two meters) from others when possible.