• UPDATED OFTEN! Answers to Tough Questions about Public Health

What can you do?

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

  • Q&A for Consumers: Hand Sanitizers and COVID-19

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue.

• Avoid close contact with other people.

• Refraining from touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects.

• Individuals at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, such as older adults and people who have chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease, should take actions to reduce your risk of exposure.

• Social Distancing at Work Poster

• Stop the Spread of Germs | Spanish | Nepali (CDC)

• Information for Consumers - Shopping for Food (FDA)

• About Cloth Face Coverings (CDC)

• Cover smart. Do your part. Slow the spread. (video from National Institute of Standards and Technology)

• combatcovid.hhs.gov (HHS) - Find ways to prevent, treat or help fight COVID-19

• Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID-19 (CDC)

• Pregnant and Recently Pregnant People at Increased Risk for Severe Illness from COVID-19 (CDC)

  • Pregnant? Take These Steps to Protect Yourself and Baby from COVID (CDC)

• Keep your Baby Healthy and Safe (CDC)

• What You Need to Know About COVID-19 (picture-based messaging)

Recommendations For Those Fully Vaccinated:

• When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated: How to Protect Yourself and Others (CDC)

• Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People (CDC)

Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations:

• Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations (CDC)

• Cleaning and Disinfecting (CDC)

If you develop symptoms:

• Call your health care provider immediately and tell them about any recent travel or exposure.

• Individuals who are concerned that they have COVID-19 should contact their healthcare provider via phone before going to a clinic or hospital to prevent spread in healthcare facilities.

• Avoid contact with other people.

• Follow the directions of your healthcare provider and public health officials.

• Symptoms Guidance (CDC)

• Testing Guidance (CDC)

• Got Symptoms? Get Tested. (flyer)

• 10 Ways to Manage Respiratory Symptoms at Home | Spanish | Karen | Somali | Nepali (CDC)

• What To Do If You Are Sick | Spanish (CDC)

• Resources Available! Print Resources

• Post-COVID Conditions

Quarantine, Isolation, and Self-Monitoring:

• Quarantine and Isolation Calculator

• Isolation or Quarantine: What's the Difference?

• Quarantine and Isolation (CDC)

• Quarantine Guidelines

• COVID-19 Contact Tracing Information

  • COVID-19 Contact Tracing Flyer

• Ending Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19: Interim Guidance (CDC)

• Travel During COVID-19 (CDC)

• If You Are Sick or Caring for Someone (CDC)

CDC Quarantine Guidelines:

• CDC recommends 14 days of quarantine from the day of last exposure to a person with COVID-19. The quarantine period is the length of the incubation period (or how long it may take a person to become ill with COVID-19) for COVID-19.

• Based on evolving knowledge of COVID-19, CDC was able to provide alternatives that use additional information, specifically a close contact’s development of symptoms and testing for COVID-19, to decrease the length of quarantine.

• CDC has provided two alternatives that have been adopted by SD-DOH:
• Release from quarantine after 7 days
• Assumes the person in quarantine:
• Has remained asymptomatic (has no symptoms)
• Has a negative molecular or rapid antigen test that was collected on Day 5 or later, after their last contact with a person with COVID-19 (i.e., Day 5 of their quarantine or later)
• Will continue to wear a mask when around others and monitor their symptoms for the remainder of the 14 day period

• Will stay at home and seek testing if they become sick

• Release from quarantine after 10 days
• Assumes the person in quarantine:
• Has remained asymptomatic (has no symptoms)
• Is not tested on Day 5 or later of quarantine
• Will continue to wear a mask when around others and monitor their symptoms for the remainder of the 14 day period
• Will stay at home and seek testing if they become sick

Return to Work Request Letter

If the Department of Health has contacted you regarding your status as a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or if you have tested positive for COVID-19 you may request an employer letter. This is for individuals only – employers may not request a letter for their employee(s).

Find Federally Qualified Health Centers in South Dakota - community-based primary care services in underserved areas providing care on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay.

Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization to allow the use of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients.

View South Dakota Monoclonal Antibody Treatment flyer

What are monoclonal antibodies? Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the antibodies created by your immune system to fight off harmful viruses. Bamlanivimab + etesevimab and casirivimab + imdevimab are monoclonal antibodies that are specifically designed to protect against severe COVID-19 infection. The antibodies bind to the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus to stop the virus from entering your cells and continuing the infection.

• Who can get this treatment? Antibody treatment can be used by people with mild to moderate COVID-19 who:
  • Test positive for SARS-CoV-2;
  • Are within 10 days of the start of their symptoms;
  • Are age 12 or older and weigh at least 88 pounds; and
  • Are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 infection or of needing to be admitted to a hospital because of COVID-19. Examples of chronic medical conditions include:
    • Chronic kidney disease
    • Diabetes
    • Immunosuppressive disease
    • Currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment
    • Having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 (overweight or obese)
    • Pregnancy
    • Aged 65 years and older
    • Cardiovascular disease (including congenital heart disease) or hypertension
    • Chronic lung diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], asthma [moderate-to-severe], interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension)
    • Sickle cell disease
    • Neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy) or other complex conditions (e.g., genetic or metabolic syndromes and severe congenital abnormalities)
    • Having a medical-related technological dependence (e.g, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, or positive pressure ventilation [not related to COVID-19])
      

Individuals who meet high risk criteria and test positive should contact their primary care physician about a referral for antibody treatment within three days of a positive test result and no later than 10 days after symptom onset.

Treatment for COVID-19 available in many parts of the state. Check with your health care provider about the use of monoclonal antibodies (bamlanivimab/etesevimab or casirivimab/imdevimab) or an antiviral (remdesivir).

These medications will be available at no cost to patients, although health care facilities may charge for administering the medicine.

ACTIV-2 Study

The ACTIV-2 Study is testing different medicines to see if they are safe and can help adults with COVID-19. Finding treatments for COVID-19 is important because the virus is spreading quickly all over the world and can cause serious sickness and even death.

• Learn More at https://www.riseabovecovid.org/en/

Resources

• Treatment Locator (HHS)
• combatcovid.hhs.gov (HHS)
• COVID-19 Medical Countermeasures (phe.gov)

For Parents

• Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) A Parent Resource (NASP)

• Helping Children Cope with Stress during the 2019-nCoV Outbreak (WHO)

• Coronavirus Explained! (for kids) - (CDC video)

• Helping Children Cope During and After a Disaster: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers (CDC)

• COVID-19 Parental Resources Kit (CDC)
  

For Adults

• Taking Care of Your Behavioral Health: Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation (SAMHSA)

• Handling COVID-19 Anxiety & Stress (CDC)

• Strategies for Self-Care and Resilience (HHS)

• Coping With Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks (SAMHSA)

• 605strong.com (SD Dept. of Social Services)

• How Right Now: Finding What Helps

• List of COVID-19 Resources for Organizations Working with Persons Who Use Drugs or Have Substance Use Disorder (CDC)

Everyone plays a part in getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have fully recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help patients currently fighting the infection by donating your plasma, also known as convalescent plasma. Because you fought the infection, your plasma now contains COVID-19 antibodies. These antibodies provided one way for your immune system to fight the virus when you were sick, so your plasma may be able to help others fight off the disease.

To become a convalescent plasma donor, individuals should contact their physician or visit the websites below for more information:

• U.S. Food & Drug Administration | Video

• The Fight Is In Us

• National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project

• Vitalant Blood Donation

Individuals or family members who are interested in acquiring a donation for a family member should contact their clinician for more information.

What is MIS-C?

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal (gut) pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. We do not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. More information is available on CDC’s website.

MIS-C in South Dakota

Total Cases: 6
Locations: 3 from East River; 3 from West River
Sex of Cases: 3 female; 3 male
Age of Cases: 6 in the 0-17 year age group
Outcomes: 6 (100%) hospitalized; Zero (0%) died