Be a COVID-19 Hero: Your Actions Can Save Lives

Why should we follow the recommendations to wear masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizer, practice physical distancing and stay home if we are sick or have had contact with someone who is sick? Because preventing even one transmission can dramatically change an outbreak.

If a person who is sick transmits the virus to two other people who become sick and they transmit the virus to two more and so on, the infection rate grows exponentially. This is what has been happening in many areas across the United States and around the world.

The graphic below shows what could happen if just one transmission per person was prevented. 

Quarantine and isolation are important tools for helping to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Did you know that a person is contagious two days before they start having symptoms? Staying home when you are sick – isolating – can help limit the number of people you spread the virus to. If you know that you have been exposed to someone who is sick with COVID-19, you can quarantine – stay home for 14 days – until you are sure that you are not sick.

If you are sick with COVID-19 or think that you have had contact with someone who is sick, you should talk to your doctor for advice about isolation, quarantine and when to get tested.

We can’t control what others do, but we can all do our part. By doing your best to reduce the risk of transmission, you are protecting yourself, your family and your community.