Rhode Island What You Need to Know About Coronavirus Fact Sheet Poster

CS 314937-A     03/03/2020
Wha t is c orona virus disease 2019 ( CO VID -19)? 
Cor onav ir us dis eas e 2019 (C OVID-19) is a r espir ator y illn ess 
an in vestig ation int o an outbreak in W uhan, China.
Can people in the U .S. get COVID -19? 
Yes . CO VID-19 is s prea ding fr om person t o person in par ts o f 
the Uni te d S tates . R isk o f infection w ith C OVID-19 is hi gher 
f or people who ar e clo se c onta cts o f some one k now n to ha ve 
C O VID-19, f or example heal thc are w ork ers, or ho usehold 
memb ers. O ther peopl e at hi gh er r isk f or inf ection ar e those 
who liv e in or h av e r ecen tly been in an ar ea w ith ong oing sprea d 
o f C OVID-19. L ear n m ore a bout pl aces w ith ong oing sprea d a t   
h tt ps ://www .cdc .gov/c oron av ir us/2019-n co v/a bout/
tr ansmission.h tml#geogra phic .
Have ther e been c ases of C OVID -19 in the U .S.? 
CO VID-19 in the Uni te d S tates is a vail able on C DC’s w ebpa ge at 
h tt ps ://www .cdc .gov/c oron av ir us/2019-n co v/ca ses -in-u s.h tml .
How does C OVID -19 spr ead? 
animal s our ce , b ut is n ow sprea ding fr om person t o person. 
ar e in c lose conta ct w ith on e anoth er (w ithin a bout 6 f ee t) 
thr ou gh r espir ator y dr oplets pr odu ce d w hen an inf ecte d 
p er son c oughs or sn eez es. It als o ma y be possibl e tha t a person 
can ge t COVID-19 by t ou ching a s urfa ce or ob je ct th at h as 
the v irus on i t and th en tou ching th eir ow n mouth, n ose , or 
p ossibly the ir eyes , b ut this is n ot th ough t t o b e th e main 
w ay the v irus s prea d s. L ear n wh at is k now n a bout th e sprea d 
o f n ew ly emer ged c orona vir uses a t htt ps ://www .cdc .gov/
c or on av ir us/2019-n co v/a bout/tr ansmission.h tml. 
Wha t ar e the sympt oms of COVID -19?
Patien ts w ith C OVID-19 ha ve h ad mil d to s evere r espir ator y 
illn ess w ith sy mptoms o f
•  fe v er
•  co u gh
•  sh ortn ess o f brea th	
W ha t ar e se ver e c omplic a	tions fr om this virus? 	
Some p atien ts ha ve p neumoni a in both lungs , multi-organ 
f ailur e and in s ome c ases de ath. 
H ow c an I help pr otec t m yself? 
People c an help pr ote ct th ems elves fr om r espir ator y illn ess w ith 	
 
 
•  Avoid c lose c ontact w ith people who ar e sick.
•  Avoid t ou ching y our e yes , n ose , an d mo uth w ith  
un wash ed han ds. 
•  Wash y our han ds o ft en w ith s oap an d water f or a t least 20 
s e con ds. Us e an al cohol-bas ed han d sanitiz er that c ontains a t 
l east 60% alc ohol if s oap an d water ar e not a vail abl e.	
If y ou ar e sick , to k eep fr om spr eading r espirator y illness 
t o others , you should
•  Sta y hom e when you ar e sick . 
•  Co ver y our c ou gh or sn eez e w ith a t issue, then thr ow the 
t iss ue in the tr ash. 
•  Cle an an d disinf ect fr equ ently t ou ch ed ob je cts  
an d s urfa ces .
Wha t should I do if I r ecen tly tra veled fr om an ar ea with 
ongoing spr ead of COVID -19?	
 
r estr ictions on y our mov ements f or u p to 2 w eek s. I f y ou 
de velop sy mptoms dur ing that p eriod (f ever, c ou gh, tr ouble 	
car e pr ovider b efor e y ou g o, an d tell th em about y our tr av el an d 
car e w itho ut ex posing o ther p eople t o your illn ess. W hile sick , 
a v oid c ontact w ith peop le, don ’t g o out an d delay an y trav el t o 
r e du ce th e possibili ty o f sprea ding illn ess to others.
Is ther e a vaccine? 
best w ay t o pr ev en t inf ection is t o take everyd ay pr ev en tiv e 
a ctions , like avoiding c lose conta ct w ith peopl e who are sick an d 
w ashing y our han ds o ft en. 
Is ther e a treatmen t? 	
 
P eople w ith C OVID-19 c an seek medical c are t o h elp 
r elie ve sy mpt oms .	
For more information: health.ri.gov/covid	
What  you need t o kn ow  about  
c o ro n avirus disease 2019 ( COVID -19)