Your health: COVID-19 information & resources
Vaccination Information
Precautions to Avoid Illness | Quarantine, Isolation, & Self-Monitoring
COVID-19 Therapeutics & Treatments | Behavioral Health
Multiple Language Resources | Plasma Donation
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) | CDC Website
Precautions to avoid illness
What can you do?
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- 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.
- Create a family plan to prepare for COVID-19 and develop a stay at home kit with food, water, medication, and other necessary items.
- Social Distancing at Work Poster
- Stop the Spread of Germs | Spanish | Nepali (CDC)
- Information for Consumers - Shopping for Food (FDA)
- Risks and Benefits: Considerations for Social Activities during COVID-19
- About Cloth Face Coverings (CDC)
- Recommendation Regarding the Use of Cloth Face Coverings (CDC)
- How to Wear Cloth Face Coverings (CDC) PDF version
- 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? Take These Steps to Protect Yourself and Baby from COVID (CDC)
- Keep your Baby Healthy and Safe (CDC)
- NEW! Choosing Safer Activities (CDC)
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)
- Disinfecting Your Facility if Someone is Sick (CDC)
South Dakota’s healthcare system is prepared to identify and treat cases of COVID-19.
Quarantine, Isolation, and Self-Monitoring
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)
- Symptom Checker Algorithm
- Is It COVID-19? - Coronavirus symptoms are similar to the flu, common cold, and allergies. This infographic will help you know the differences.
- 10 Ways to Manage Respiratory Symptoms at Home | Spanish | Karen | Somali | Nepali (CDC)
- What To Do If You Are Sick | Spanish | Nepali (CDC)
- Print Resources
- Post-COVID Conditions
Quarantine, Isolation, and Self-Monitoring:
- Self-Isolation Guidance
- Temperature Tracker
- Taking Your Temperature
- Release from Isolation Guidance
- Isolation or Quarantine: What's the Difference?
- When to Quarantine (CDC)
- Isolate If You Are Sick (CDC)
- Quarantine Guidelines | Infographic
- COVID-19 Contact Tracing
- Travel During COVID-19 (CDC)
Modification to 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)
- Continues to monitor their symptoms for the remainder of the 14 day period and 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
- Continues to monitor their symptoms for the remainder of the 14 day period and 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).
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Guidance:
CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Visit the CDC website for more information.
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.
COVID-19 Therapeutics & Treatments
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/
Monoclonal Antibody Theraputics
In November, 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Are currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment
- Having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 35
- 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.
Avera Health
Monument Health
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Sanford Health
Independent Hospitals
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Resources:
- Treatment Locator (HHS)
- combatcovid.hhs.gov (HHS)
- COVID-19 Medical Countermeasures (phe.gov)
Behavioral Health
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
- NEW! List of COVID-19 Resources for Organizations Working with Persons Who Use Drugs or Have Substance Use Disorder (CDC)
COVID-19 Plasma Donation
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.
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C)
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