Know the symptoms of COVID-19

Patients with COVID-19 have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness. Symptoms can include fever, cough and/or shortness of breath. Symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure. Call your healthcare professional if you develop symptoms, if you have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or if you have recently traveled from an area with endemic spread of COVID-19 (including China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore, or domestically to areas with a high volume of confirmed cases).

COVID-19 is a new virus that health officials are learning more about every day. Based on what they are seeing, however, most people do get better. Older adults, however, and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease seem to be at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. “This may be because older adults have weaker immune systems and are more likely to have underlying health conditions that make it harder to recover from illness,” said Richard Martinello, MD, medical director, Infection Prevention at Yale New Haven Health.

“Prevention is key to reducing the risk of transmitting COVID-19,” he said. “If you have symptoms, though, stay home. Don’t go to work or school, and help contain the virus by calling your doctor’s office before going. They have processes in place to limit exposure to others. We want to keep you and others as safe as possible from exposure.”

If you think you have COVID-19 symptoms, call your doctor or Yale New Haven Health’s call center toll-free at 833-ASK-YNHH (833-275-9644).