1. What are the symptoms? These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure (based on the incubation period of MERS-CoV viruses).



Fever

Cough

Shortness of breath

2. How to properly wash your hands? Please visit CDC's website for instructions



3. When to Seek Medical Attention? If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include*:



Trouble breathing

Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

New confusion or inability to arouse

Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

4. Why are we seeing a rise in cases? The number of cases of COVID-19 being reported in the United States is rising due to increased laboratory testing and reporting across the country. The growing number of cases in part reflects the rapid spread of COVID-19 as many U.S. states and territories experience community spread. More detailed and accurate data will allow us to better understand and track the size and scope of the outbreak and strengthen prevention and response efforts.

5. Can someone who has had COVID-19 spread the illness to others? The virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading from person-to-person. Someone who is actively sick with COVID-19 can spread the illness to others. That is why CDC recommends that these patients be isolated either in the hospital or at home (depending on how sick they are) until they are better and no longer pose a risk of infecting others.



How long someone is actively sick can vary so the decision on when to release someone from isolation is made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with doctors, infection prevention and control experts, and public health officials and involves considering specifics of each situation including disease severity, illness signs and symptoms, and results of laboratory testing for that patient.

6. Will warm weather stop the outbreak of COVID-19? It is not yet known whether weather and temperature impact the spread of COVID-19. Some other viruses, like the common cold and flu, spread more during cold weather months but that does not mean it is impossible to become sick with these viruses during other months. At this time, it is not known whether the spread of COVID-19 will decrease when weather becomes warmer. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and other features associated with COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing.

7. What is community spread? Community spread means people have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.

8. Who is at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19? Older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for more serious complications from COVID-19. These people who may be at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness, includes:



Older adults

People who have serious underlying medical conditions like:

Heart disease

Diabetes

Lung disease

9. What steps can my family take to reduce our risk of getting COVID-19? Practice everyday preventive actions to help reduce your risk of getting sick and remind everyone in your home to do the same. These actions are especially important for older adults and people who have severe chronic medical conditions:



Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick, except to get medical care.

Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and throw the tissue in the trash.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.

If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects

(e.g., tables, countertops, light switches, doorknobs, and cabinet handles).

10. What is the source of the virus? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some cause illness in people, and others, such as canine and feline coronaviruses, only infect animals. Rarely, animal coronaviruses that infect animals have emerged to infect people and can spread between people. This is suspected to have occurred for the virus that causes COVID-19. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are two other examples of coronaviruses that originated from animals and then spread to people. More information about the source and spread of COVID-19 is available on the Situation Summary: Source and Spread of the Virus.

11. What cleaning products should I use to protect against COVID-19? Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks. If surfaces are dirty, clean them using detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection. To disinfect, most common EPA-registered household disinfectants will work.

12. Should I make my own hand sanitizer if I can’t find it in the stores?

CDC recommends handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or, using alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water are not available. These actions are part of everyday preventive actions individuals can take to slow the spread of respiratory diseases like COVID-19.



When washing hands, you can use plain soap or antibacterial soap. Plain soap is as effective as antibacterial soap at removing germs.

If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an FDA-approved alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol by looking at the product label.

CDC does not encourage the production and use of homemade hand sanitizer products because of concerns over the correct use of the ingredientsexternal icon and the need to work under sterile conditions to make the product. Local industries that are looking into producing hand sanitizer to fill in for commercial shortages can refer to the World Health Organization guidancepdf iconexternal icon. Organizations should revert to the use of commercially produced, FDA-approved product once such supplies again become available.



To be effective against killing some types of germs, hand sanitizers need to have a strength of at least 60% alcohol and be used when hands are not visibly dirty or greasy.

Do not rely on “Do It Yourself” or “DIY” recipes based solely on essential oils or formulated without correct compounding practices.

Do not use hand sanitizer to disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects.

13. Stimulus: How large will the payments be? Most adults will get $1,200, although some would get less. For every qualifying child age 16 or under, the payment will be an additional $500.

14. Stimulus: How many payments will there be? Just one. Future bills could order up additional payments, though.

15. Stimulus: How do I know if I will get the full amount? It depends on your income. Single adults with Social Security numbers who have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less will get the full amount. Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less will receive a total of $2,400. And taxpayers filing as head of household will get the full payment if they earned $112,500 or less.



Above those income figures, the payment decreases until it stops altogether for single people earning $99,000 or married people who have no children and earn $198,000. According to the Senate Finance Committee, a family with two children will no longer be eligible for any payments if its income surpassed $218,000.



You can’t get a payment if someone claims you as a dependent, even if you’re an adult. In any given family and in most instances, everyone must have a valid Social Security number in order to be eligible. There is an exception for members of the military.



You can find your adjusted gross income on Line 8b of the 2019 1040 federal tax return.

16. Stimulus: Do college students get anything? Not if anyone claims them as a dependent on a tax return. Usually, students under age 24 are dependents in the eyes of the taxing authorities if a parent pays for at least half of their expenses.

17. Stimulus: What year’s income should I be looking at? 2019. If you haven’t prepared a tax return yet, you can use your 2018 return. If you haven’t filed that yet, you can use a 2019 Social Security statement showing your income to see what an employer reported to the I.R.S.

18. Stimulus: What if my recent income made me ineligible, but I anticipate being eligible because of a loss of income in 2020? Do I get a payment? The plan does not help people in that circumstance now, but you may benefit once you file your 2020 taxes. That’s because the payment is technically an advance on a tax credit that is available for the entire year. So it will depend on how much you earn.



And there are many other provisions in the legislation. You may be able to file for unemployment or for one of the new loans for small business owners or sole proprietors.

19. Stimulus: Will I have to apply to receive a payment? No. If the Internal Revenue Service already has your bank account information, it will transfer the money to you via direct deposit based on the recent income-tax figures it already has.

20. Stimulus: When will the payment arrive? Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expected most people to get their payments within three weeks.

21. Stimulus: If my payment doesn’t come soon, how can I be sure that it wasn’t misdirected? According to the bill, you will get a paper notice in the mail no later than a few weeks after your payment has been disbursed. That notice will contain information about where the payment ended up and in what form it was made. If you couldn’t locate the payment at that point, it would be time to contact the I.R.S. using the information on the notice.

22. Stimulus: What if I haven’t filed tax returns recently? Will that affect my ability to receive a payment? It could. File a return immediately, at least for 2018, according to the I.R.S. website. “Those without 2018 tax filings on record could potentially affect mailings of stimulus checks,” the site says.



If you’re worried about money that you owe that you cannot pay, the I.R.S. recommends consulting a tax professional who can help you request an alternative payment plan or some other resolution.

23. Stimulus: Will most people who are receiving Social Security retirement and disability payments each month also get a stimulus payment? Yes.

24. Stimulus: Will eligible unemployed people get these stimulus payments? Veterans? Yes.

25. Stimulus: Will U.S. citizens living abroad get a payment? Yes, as long as they meet the income requirements and have a Social Security number.

26. Stimulus: If my income tax refunds are currently being garnished because of a student loan default, will this payment be garnished as well? No. In fact, the bill temporarily suspends nearly all efforts to garnish tax refunds to repay debts, including those to the I.R.S. itself. But this waiver may not apply to people who are behind on child support.

27. Unemployment: Where do I file? Please visit https://www.uc.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx

28. Unemployment: Who will be covered by the expanded program? The plan wraps in far more workers than are usually eligible for unemployment benefits, including self-employed people and part-time workers.



The bottom line: Those who are unemployed, are partly unemployed or cannot work for a wide variety of coronavirus-related reasons will be more likely to receive benefits.

29. Unemployment: How much will I receive? It depends on your state.



Benefits will be expanded in an attempt to replace the average worker’s paycheck, explained Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a public policy research group. The average worker earns about $1,000 a week, and unemployment benefits often replace roughly 40 to 45 percent of that. The expansion will pay an extra amount to fill the gap.

30. Unemployment: Are gig workers, freelancers and independent contractors covered? Yes, self-employed people are newly eligible for unemployment benefits.

31. Unemployment: What if I’m a part-time worker who lost my job because of a coronavirus reason, but my state doesn’t cover part-time workers? Am I still eligible? Yes. Part-time workers are eligible for benefits, but the benefit amount and how long benefits will last depend on your state. They are also eligible for the additional $600 weekly benefit.

32. Unemployment: What if I’ve been advised by a health care provider to quarantine myself because of exposure to coronavirus? And what about broader orders to stay home? People who must self-quarantine are covered. The legislation also says that individuals who are unable to get to work because of a quarantine imposed as a result of the outbreak are eligible.

33. Unemployment: I was about to start a new job and now can’t get there because of an outbreak. You’re eligible for benefits. You will also be covered if you were immediately laid off from a new job and did not have a sufficient work history to qualify for benefits under normal circumstances.

34. Unemployment: My employer shut down my workplace because of coronavirus. Am I eligible? Yes. If you are unemployed, partly unemployed or unable to work because your employer closed down, you’re covered under the bill.

35. Unemployment: The breadwinner of my household has died as a result of coronavirus. I relied on that person for income, and I’m not working. Is that covered? Yes.

36. Unemployment: Whom does the bill leave out? Workers who are able to work from home, and those receiving paid sick leave or paid family leave are not covered. New entrants to the work force who cannot find jobs are also ineligible.