When a child tests positive for COVID-19, the situation requires two separate responses: isolation for the infected child and quarantine for exposed caregivers. Isolation is the necessary separation for the person confirmed to have the virus, while quarantine is the measure taken by those exposed to prevent potential transmission. While guidelines evolve frequently, current recommendations from public health authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provide a clear framework for managing this scenario.
Isolation Rules for the Child
The focus for your child who tested positive is isolation, meaning they must stay home and away from others until they meet specific recovery criteria. The CDC no longer recommends a mandatory five-day isolation period, instead aligning guidance with other common respiratory illnesses like the flu. The primary goal is to keep the child separate until the period of highest contagiousness has passed and their condition is improving.
Your child can return to normal activities when two conditions have been met for at least 24 hours: their symptoms are getting better overall, and they have been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medication. This transition marks the effective end of isolation, but precautions should not cease immediately, as a person can still shed the virus.
For the five days following the end of isolation, the child should take added precautions to reduce the risk of transmission. These measures include practicing diligent hand hygiene, maintaining physical distance, and wearing a high-quality, well-fitting mask when around other people.
Quarantine Rules for Uninfected Caregivers
The rules for caregivers differ significantly depending on whether they have immunity from recent vaccination or a prior infection. Guidance has generally moved away from mandatory quarantine for those exposed to the virus, regardless of their vaccination status. Instead, the emphasis is placed on monitoring, testing, and proactive precautions.
For caregivers who are up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines or who have had a confirmed infection within the last 90 days, no mandatory quarantine is necessary. You must wear a high-quality mask for 10 full days after your last close contact with your child. This continuous, strict masking is a preventative action to take during the incubation period.
If you are a caregiver who is unvaccinated or not recently infected, mandatory quarantine has largely been replaced by the same strong recommendation for precautions. While staying home is no longer required by the CDC, you should still wear a mask for 10 days and monitor closely for symptoms.
The 10-day precautionary period is calculated from the date of the last known close contact with the infected person. Since exposure is continuous in a shared home, this timeline can be difficult to pinpoint. For practical purposes, this 10-day period should be followed diligently by the caregiver, starting from the day the child begins their isolation period. If you develop any symptoms during this time, you must immediately begin isolation yourself and get tested.
When to Test and What to Do Next
Testing is an important step for exposed caregivers, regardless of their vaccination status or whether they are experiencing symptoms. It is recommended to wait a minimum of five full days after the last known exposure before testing for COVID-19. Testing earlier may lead to an inaccurate negative result because the viral load may not yet be high enough to be detected.
If your test result is negative on Day 5, you should continue to wear a mask and monitor for symptoms through Day 10. If you are using a rapid antigen test, repeating the test 48 hours later can provide a more reliable confirmation. A positive test result means you must immediately transition to the isolation rules that applied to your child.
Beyond testing, the entire household should focus on hygiene and symptom monitoring for the full 10-day period following the child’s positive test. This includes frequent hand washing and taking steps to improve air circulation in the home, such as opening windows if possible. If any household member’s symptoms worsen or a fever returns after they have resumed normal activities, they should stay home again until they meet the criteria for ending isolation.