If you’ve tested positive for COVID, stay home and away from others until your symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours and any fever has been gone for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. Most people recover at home with basic symptom management, but there are specific steps worth taking in the first few days to feel better faster, protect the people around you, and lower your risk of complications.
Stay Home Until You Meet Two Criteria
The CDC’s current guidance is straightforward: stay home while you’re sick, then return to normal activities once both of these are true at the same time. First, your symptoms are improving overall. Second, any fever you had has been gone for at least 24 hours without using medication like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to suppress it.
For the five days after you resume normal activities, take extra precautions. Wear a well-fitting mask around others, keep your distance when possible, wash your hands frequently, and improve airflow in shared spaces. This buffer period matters because you can still shed virus even after feeling better.
Managing Symptoms at Home
Most COVID infections are mild enough to treat the same way you’d treat a bad cold or flu. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help with fever, headaches, and body aches. Stay well hydrated, especially if you have a fever, and rest as much as your body asks for. There’s no special COVID-specific remedy here; the goal is comfort while your immune system does the work.
Sore throat responds well to warm liquids, ice chips, or throat lozenges. For congestion, a humidifier or steamy shower can help loosen things up. If you have a cough that’s keeping you awake, sleeping slightly propped up on extra pillows can make a noticeable difference. Track your symptoms loosely so you can tell whether you’re trending better or worse over the first few days.
When to Call 911
A small percentage of people develop severe illness. Call emergency services immediately if you or someone you’re caring for experiences any of these:
- Trouble breathing or shortness of breath at rest
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion or difficulty thinking clearly
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Color changes in lips, nail beds, or skin (appearing pale, gray, or blue)
If you call 911, tell the operator you have or may have COVID so the responding team can prepare.
Ask About Antiviral Treatment Early
Prescription antiviral treatments exist that can reduce the severity of COVID and lower your risk of hospitalization, but they only work if started early in the illness. Contact your doctor or a telehealth provider as soon as you test positive, ideally within the first day or two of symptoms. Your provider will assess whether you qualify based on your medical history and risk factors for severe disease.
Conditions that generally put you at higher risk include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung conditions, immunosuppression, and being over 65. But eligibility is based on your provider’s overall assessment, not a rigid checklist, so it’s worth asking even if you’re not sure you qualify.
One thing to know: about 5 to 7 percent of people, whether they take antivirals or not, experience a “rebound” where symptoms return 3 to 7 days after the initial illness resolves. If that happens, it’s typically mild and clears up on its own within about a week. Rebound rates are statistically similar between people who take antivirals and those who don’t, so a rebound doesn’t mean the medication failed.
Protecting People in Your Household
If you share a home with others, ventilation is one of the most effective tools you have. Open windows on opposite sides of the house to create cross-ventilation. If you can only open one window, a box fan placed in front of it (blowing outward) helps pull fresh air through the room. Keep internal doors open to improve airflow throughout the house, and avoid pointing fans so they blow air directly from the sick person toward others.
If your home has a central HVAC system, run the fan continuously rather than on “auto” so air is being filtered around the clock. Upgrading your filter to MERV 13 or higher makes a meaningful difference in capturing virus-carrying particles. A portable air cleaner with a HEPA filter, placed in the room where the sick person spends the most time, adds another layer of protection.
Beyond air quality, the basics still apply: the sick person should use a separate bathroom if possible, wear a mask in shared spaces, and wipe down surfaces they touch. An N95 or KN95 mask offers substantially more protection than a cloth or surgical mask. A CDC-funded study in California found that people who wore N95 or KN95 respirators in indoor settings had 83% lower odds of testing positive compared to people wearing no mask. Surgical masks reduced odds by about 66%.
Testing to Confirm You’re No Longer Infectious
If you want confidence that you’re no longer contagious, at-home antigen tests can help, but a single negative result isn’t enough. The FDA recommends two negative antigen tests spaced 48 hours apart if you have symptoms. If you’re testing without symptoms, you need three negative tests, each 48 hours apart. A single negative test, especially early in the illness, can miss an active infection.
Returning to Exercise Safely
Even if you feel mostly recovered, avoid exercise for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started or from your positive test date. COVID can affect the heart and lungs in ways that aren’t always obvious, and pushing too hard too soon can set you back. Signs you’re not ready include unusual fatigue, a faster-than-normal resting heart rate, or dizziness.
When you do start again, begin with light activity that doesn’t significantly raise your heart rate, like a short walk. Gradually increase intensity over several days. If symptoms return or you feel worse after a session, scale back and give yourself more time. There’s no prize for rushing this.
Reducing Your Risk of Long COVID
Long COVID, where symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, or shortness of breath persist for weeks or months, is one of the more concerning possibilities after infection. There’s growing evidence that certain steps during the acute illness may lower that risk.
Multiple studies, including randomized controlled trials, suggest that taking metformin (a widely available, inexpensive diabetes medication) during or shortly after acute COVID infection reduces the risk of developing long COVID by roughly 40 to 60 percent. The earliest trial found a 41% reduction, and subsequent studies have replicated similar results. Metformin has a strong safety profile and is compatible with antiviral treatments, which makes it a reasonable option to discuss with your doctor alongside other treatments. It’s not yet standard practice everywhere, but the evidence is substantial enough to bring up if long COVID is a concern for you.
Vaccination before infection also reduces long COVID risk, and resting adequately during the acute phase, rather than pushing through, is consistently recommended by clinicians who treat post-COVID patients.