Frequently Asked Questions About COVID-19

Be assured that we have stringent infection-prevention protocols and systems in place — including universal masking, health screening protocols and physical distancing practices. Learn more:

• Extra safeguards in our clinics and hospitals to protect you and our caregivers
• Updated visitor restrictions, with limited exceptions
• Expanded use of video visits to reduce exposure risk
• Mandating use of masks in our facilities to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19
• Frequently updated information about UC San Diego Health care and services

• If you have COVID-19 symptoms — such as fever, new cough, new shortness of breath or a recent loss of taste or smell — or if you think you might have COVID-19: Please call our COVID-19 Nurse Line at 800-926-8273 to discuss your symptoms before coming to any of our hospitals or clinics. A nurse will ask questions to evaluate your potential risk for COVID-19 infection and identify the best course of action, including whether you should get tested. Do NOT walk in without an appointment or use online appointment scheduling.
• If you’re an older patient (ages 65 and above), have underlying medical conditions or are immunocompromised: Please contact your doctor early in the course of even mild illness.
• If you have severe symptoms, such as difficulty in breathing: Seek care immediately.

For more information, see COVID-19 Testing and Screening.

• If you are tested at a UC San Diego Health location, a health care professional will call you with your test results, usually within 24 hours.
• If you test positive for COVID-19 and have mild to moderate symptoms, you will be offered a referral to our COVID-19 Telemedicine Clinic, where you can schedule video visits or telephone consults with infectious disease specialists. These providers will monitor your health and refer you to other specialists you may need. Hospitalization is usually not required unless you develop severe symptoms.
• While waiting for your results, you should avoid contact with people, including those sharing your residence. Stay in your room alone and wear a mask if you enter common areas. Practice hand hygiene before leaving your room.
• If you were tested before a medical procedure or surgery and were negative for COVID-19, it is still advisable to minimize contact with others so you don’t contract COVID-19 while recuperating.

For more information, see COVID-19 Testing and Screening.

Our hospitals and clinics have strict infection-prevention protocols and systems in place to keep patients, visitors and health care workers safe at all times, including during an outbreak of a disease. You should feel confident in accessing our services for medical appointments and procedures. We are screening everyone for COVID-19 symptoms at the entrances of our clinics and hospitals. Any visitor or employee with those symptoms isn't allowed to enter.

We also have taken other steps to protect your safety and provide care for you and the community. In addition, keep the following in mind:

• If you have an upcoming appointment and have symptoms including fever, new cough, new shortness of breath or a recent loss of taste or smell, or if you fear that you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please call our COVID-19 Nurse Line — 800-926-8273 — to discuss your symptoms before coming to your scheduled appointment. If you have these symptoms and arrive to see a specialist or for a procedure without calling first, we may ask you to reschedule your appointment.
• We have resumed necessary surgeries, medical procedures and clinic visits that were delayed during the COVID-19 crisis. Take a look at the new and improved safety measures in our clinics and hospitals.
• We are also converting some appointments to MyUCSDChart video visits to reduce exposure risk. We will make every effort to ensure this is a smooth and easy experience for you to follow.

If you have a life-threatening injury or severe illness, please go to an Emergency Department or call 911. Don't delay getting emergency care. Our ER locations in San Diego County are open 24 hours every day.

Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent the novel coronavirus infection. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

To protect everyone's health and well-being, we encourage you to stay at home, except for essential needs, as per any stay-at-home order in your region.

If you go out for an essential need, such as grocery shopping or a vital doctor’s appointment:

• Practice social distancing.
• Wear a mask — a bandana, scarf or homemade face covering.
• Avoid crowded places and close contact with sick people.

You should also:

• Try not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water (for 20 seconds) or hand sanitizer.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces — like keyboards, phones, remote controls and door handles — and thoroughly wash utensils and glasses.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze — or use the crook of your arm — and throw the tissue in the trash. Then wash your hands with soap and water.
• Get a flu shot.
• Don’t travel to places with widespread or sustained community transmission of the coronavirus. Reliable information can be found on the CDC’s travel advisory pages.
• Practice healthy habits to boost your immunity: Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, protect your mental health, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.

Yes, masks are a simple, but critical tactic, in slowing the spread of the virus, so it’s crucial we wear masks to protect ourselves and others. UC San Diego Health requires patients, visitors and staff in our facilities to wear face coverings or masks that cover the nose and mouth.

The CDC recommends that anyone who leaves their home for any purpose should wear a facial covering — such as a bandana, scarf or homemade mask — while maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene.

San Diego County health officials have mandated that people must wear masks in public settings when they're within 6 feet of other people. Businesses also must require their employees and others to wear a face covering at the workplace.

See more information on masks and tips for achieving a proper fit.

It is normal to feel anxious and unsettled during this crisis. You are not alone. Have compassion for yourself.

Free online mindfulness and compassion sessions are provided by UC San Diego’s Sanford Institute, Center for Mindfulness, and the Compassion Institute.

These videos may help, too:

Video: 5 Tips to Protect Your Mental Health During Coronavirus Outbreak

Video: Managing Anxiety: Breathing Exercise Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

You can remove the virus from surfaces or break it apart with:

• Soap and water
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60 percent alcohol
• Bleach solutions and bleach-based cleaners
• Hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen-peroxide-based cleaners
• Quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), commonly found in disinfectant wipes and sprays

Video: What Cleaning Supplies Will Help Combat COVID-19?

A study this year by the National Institutes of Health found that the coronavirus survives on a variety of different surfaces, including:

• In aerosols, for up to 3 hours
• On copper, for up to 4 hours
• On cardboard, for up to 24 hours
• On stainless steel and plastic, for up to 3 days

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, that was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses, like the common cold and pneumonia. Learn more about coronaviruses.

Video: What You Should Know About COVID-19

Most people infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have mild to moderate cold and flu-like symptoms, including:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Recent loss of taste or smell

Some people, often those with other medical complications, may develop more severe respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia. Other people could be asymptomatic. This means they are infected with the novel coronavirus, but have no symptoms. Asymptomatic people can still spread the virus.

Video: Are My Symptoms Related to COVID-19?

The respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 typically appear an average of 5-6 days after exposure to the virus, but may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure, according to the CDC.

Based on what is currently known, SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, spreads from person to person like other respiratory viruses, mainly via respiratory droplets that travel up to 6 feet in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can be inhaled by people who are nearby or land on their eyes, nose or mouth.

Close contact with an infectious person — such as shaking hands — or touching a doorknob, tabletop or other surfaces touched by an infectious person, and then touching your nose, eyes or mouth with contaminated hands can also transmit the virus.

It is uncertain whether the novel coronavirus can be spread via infectious aerosols. It is also unknown how long the air inside a room occupied by a person with COVID-19 remains potentially infectious.

Most people with mild symptoms and no underlying health conditions can recover at home, as they would with the flu or a cold. Others may need hospitalization for supportive care to help relieve symptoms and prevent potentially serious complications, such as respiratory failure.

In early May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization to use remdesivir to treat severe cases of COVID-19, making it the first drug with FDA approval for treating the novel coronavirus. UC San Diego Health is studying the efficacy and safety of remdesivir and working on developing other new therapeutics and treatment approaches.

In the video below, watch Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Padilla talking about his treatment and recovery at UC San Diego Health after contracting the coronavirus in March. After being admitted to ICU with severe COVID-19 symptoms, he was intubated and put on a ventilator for 11 days.

Video: What It's Like to Survive COVID-19

We don’t know yet. In the video below, one of our experts discusses this question.

Video: How Long Will This Coronavirus Pandemic Last?

If you have questions about an upcoming appointment, please call your doctor’s office. You can also read frequently updated COVID-19 information about UC San Diego Health care and services.

If you have general questions about UC San Diego Health and the novel coronavirus outbreak, please call our Patient Experience team at 619-543-5678.

You can watch coronavirus videos to learn more about the disease and the issues surrounding it.

If you have a life-threatening injury or severe illness, please call 911 or go to an Emergency Department. Our ER locations in San Diego County are open 24 hours every day.

You can also find more information about COVID-19 from these websites:

• CDC / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (updated daily with advice for public)
• California Department of Public Health
• San Diego County Public Health Services
• U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• University of California system
• World Health Organization