Symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure and can include:

  • Fever
  • Cough (new or worsening)
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Shortness of breath
  • Chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Sore throat
  • Headache
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Gastrointestinal issues

Other symptoms are possible. Please call your physician if you have other symptoms that you are worried about.

The following symptoms are serious. If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department immediately:

  • Serious trouble breathing
  • New persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • New confusion
  • Inability to wake or stay awake
  • Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds, depending on skin tone
  • Home pulse oximeter reading of less than 92% (if available)

Use our Symptom Checker to see what level of care is recommended for you.

Testing is recommended if you think you have COVID-19. If you have mild symptoms, you have a few options to request a COVID-19 test:

If you test positive for COVID-19, you likely will be able to care for yourself at home. The CDC recommends 10 things you can do to manage your COVID-19 symptoms at home.

If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department immediately:

  • Serious trouble breathing
  • New persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • New confusion
  • Inability to wake or stay awake
  • Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds, depending on skin tone
  • Home pulse oximeter reading of less than 92% (if available)

If you are not sure what kind of care you need, use our Symptom Checker.

Please note: At this time, the state of Illinois has a limited supply of both oral medications and monoclonal antibodies. Please visit the Diagnosis and Treatments page on the COVID-19 Resource Center for more information.

If you test positive for COVID-19 , isolate for the first 5 days from when your symptoms started. After 5 days, if you do not have symptoms, or if your symptoms are going away and you do not have a fever for 24 hours, you do not need to isolate. Continue to wear a mask around others for the next 5 days.

To isolate:

  • Remain at home and separated from others in the household.
  • Use a separate bathroom if possible.
  • Avoid contact with other members of the household, including pets.
  • Do not share personal household items like cups, towels and utensils.
  • Wear a well-fitting mask (non-cloth surgical mask if possible) if you need to be around other people.

Ending isolation:

  • After 5 full days, if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved, you may end isolation.
  • Wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 more days after the end of your 5-day isolation period.
  • If you cannot wear a mask around others, isolate for a full 10 days.
  • If you have a severe illness or you are immunocompromised, you should isolate from 10 to 20 days. Consult your physician for guidance.

If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 and you develop symptoms, get tested and stay home.

If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you do not have symptoms, and you are fully vaccinated:*

  • You do not need to quarantine.
  • Wear a mask around others for 10 days after exposure. Start counting from the day after you are exposed.
  • Get tested 5 days after exposure.

If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you do not have symptoms, and you are not fully vaccinated:*

  • Quarantine from people for at least 5 days, and wear a mask if you are around others in your home. Begin counting the day after you are exposed.
  • Get tested 5 days after you were exposed. Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
  • If you cannot quarantine, you must wear a mask for 10 days.

*A person is considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Boosters are recommended.