Follow the guidance of your doctor which may be specific to your individual health needs. In general, if you have symptoms, stay at home until you are fever free for at least 24 hours (without the aid of fever reducing medication) and 10 days after your symptoms have resolved.
Source: Marin HHS
As defined by the CDC, a Person Under Investigation (PUI) is any person currently under investigation for having the virus that causes COVID-19. A Person Under Investigation should be directed to COVID testing and quarantine under the guidance of their health care professional or Marin Public Health.
Source: CDC, Marin HHS
If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, you should contact your medical provider to discuss whether you are a candidate for testing.
There are multiple testing options county-wide. If you are not able to obtain testing through your medical provider, free confidential testing is available in Marin and the Bay Area. Search for your nearest testing location by zipcode.
The State of California has joined with County of Marin and OptumServe to expand testing for underserved communities. A dedicated testing site is available in San Rafael by appointment only. Make an appointment at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. If you do not have internet access, call: 1-888-634-1123. This site is open to uninsured, underinsured, undocumented and homeless individuals. If you have medical insurance, OptumServe will bill your insurance company. Tests for uninsured individuals will be paid for by the state.
The majority of people will have mild illness that is best treated at home. However, those with serious illness will be treated regardless of insurance status. Advisors will work with uninsured patients to find the best options for coverage.
Some resources for uninsured people include:
- Check with your local community health center or hospital to see if fees for testing can be waived.
- See if you’re eligible for Medi-Cal.
- See if you’re eligible for Covered California.
- See if you are eligible for care at a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center.
Source: Marin HHS, State of California
Testing starts with your medical provider. Anyone experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should immediately call their medical provider and seek testing.
Your medical provider will want to test for possible conditions such as flu, strep, or pneumonia. If your doctor believes you are a candidate for testing, they will refer you to either Marin Public Health or a suitable test center to conduct the testing.
Marin County Public Health also recommends testing for some groups, even if they do not have symptoms, including:
- All persons who were notified that they were exposed to someone who was confirmed to have COVID-19; and
- All persons who were notified by Marin Public Health as being high risk based on outbreak investigations; and
- All essential public and private sector workers (cities and town workers included); and
- Certain occupations with higher risk of exposures, including some healthcare workers and first responders. Testing for these individuals is arranged through their employer.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
If you think you have had an exposure to COVID-19, you should wait 4-5 days from day of exposure prior to getting tested. As defined by the CDC "The incubation period for COVID-19 is thought to extend to 14 days, with a median time of 4-5 days from exposure to symptoms onset.1-3 One study reported that 97.5% of persons with COVID-19 who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection.3"
Marin County Public Health is reporting test results based on laboratory reporting to the state. On March 24, Bay Area public health officers issued an order that requires commercial labs to report all results (positive and negative). But we are still seeing lags in reporting, which makes it difficult for public health officials to provide an accurate testing picture for Marin.
You can view current test results on our data page.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
Source: Marin HHS
Not everyone needs to be tested for COVID-19.
Here is some information that might help in making decisions about seeking care or testing.
- Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home.
- There is no treatment specifically approved for this virus.
- Testing results may be helpful to inform decision-making about who you come in contact with.
Decisions about testing are based on a variety of factors including risk factors for serious illness, age, occupation, local epidemiology, and where the person is in their illness.
Clinicians should work with Marin HHS to coordinate testing through public health laboratories, or work with clinical or commercial laboratories. All test results should be reported back to Marin HHS.
Visit CDC’s COVID-19 Testing Guidance for more information. Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
Source: Marin HHS, CDC
If you know you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 you should quarantine yourself in your home and contact your healthcare provider. If you do not have a healthcare provider, call (415) 473-7191.
Even if your healthcare provider decides you do not need to be tested, you should remain quarantined until 10 days after your exposure to make sure you do not develop symptoms.
Source: Marin HHS
It currently takes 3-5 business days to get the results from a COVID-19 test. Depending on your testing location, a Marin County Public Health Nurse or your doctor will call you with your test results.
While you are waiting on your results, you must self-quarantine:
- Do not leave your home: Except for a medical emergency, you should not leave your home. A household member or friend should handle any outside activities that are allowed under the shelter-in-place order, such as grocery shopping.
- Quarantine yourself to a small space in your home: If possible, designate a room and bathroom that only you will use until you know your test results. The smaller the area, the easier it will be to disinfect it properly.
For detailed guidance see Post-Test Isolation Guidance.
If you test positive, a Marin County Public Health representative will contact you to conduct a contact tracing investigation. This investigation identifies any close contacts who are at high risk of exposure and will need to isolate from others and be tested for COVID-19.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
A nurse from Marin County Public Health will contact you and give you instructions on how to protect yourself and your family or anyone else in your household.
If you test positive, even if you do not feel sick, you should immediately isolate yourself in a room of your home away from anyone else you live with.
Follow your healthcare provider’s advice and take all hygiene and disinfectant precautions to prevent anyone else from getting sick. See the Quarantine and Isolation guidance for details.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
Yes. Your personal information will not be not shared.
Test results are only shared with the referring healthcare provider and Marin Public Health.
Marin Public Health does not release any identifying information about individuals. The only information publicly reported is age range, race and gender. That information is shared on Marin's Coronavirus Data Page in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
When a COVID-19 case is confirmed, our Public Health team conducts a contact investigation (also known as contact tracing), which focuses on identifying, testing and isolating people with high or medium risk of infection from a confirmed case. The contact investigation will review the places and people the confirmed cases may have come into contact with during the time the case would have been infectious. Any people or places believed to be high or medium risk will then be contacted to proceed with testing and isolation.
Below is a table from the CDC, clarifying the types of exposure that might lead to infection. Most importantly, the CDC clarifies brief encounters in the community do not carry significant risk.
| Risk Level | Exposures Identified Through Contact Investigation |
|---|---|
| No Identifiable Risk | Interactions with a person who has symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 that do not meet any of the high-, medium-, or low-risk conditions below, such as walking by the person or being briefly in the same room. |
| Low Risk | Being in the same indoor environment (e.g., classroom, a hospital waiting room) as a person with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 for a period of time, but not meeting the definition of close contact |
| Medium Risk |
|
| High Risk | Living in the same household as, being an intimate partner of, or providing care in a nonhealthcare setting (such as a home) for a person with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection without using recommended precautions for home care and home isolation |
If believe you have experienced a high or medium risk exposure to someone with COVID-19, you should quarantine yourself in your home and contact your healthcare provider. If you do not have a healthcare provider, call (415) 473-7191.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing in Marin County by visiting our Testing Information webpage.
Marin Public Health's team of "contact investigators" play a crucial role in the COVID-19 response. This practice is commonly referred to as contact tracing.
When a person tests positive for COVID-19, the team calls the person to gather a list of close contacts who are at high risk of exposure. Everyone on that list is then contacted to arrange for testing and quarantine in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. While these close contacts are awaiting test results, they are commonly referred to as a Person Under Investigation (PUI).
In addition to gathering a list of close contacts, the contact investigation team evaluates symptoms and provides education regarding quarantine and/or isolation for COVID-19 infected persons, PUIs and any members of their households.
The video below from Marin's Public Health Officer provides additional information about how contact tracing works and why it is important.