Please check with your employer to find out what your specific workplace’s policy is.

In general, though, researchers believe if you’re exhibiting mild symptoms, you’re most contagious for approximately the first 10 days from infection. Therefore, the CDC and Hawai‘i State Department of Health recommendations are to:

  • Isolate for at least five days
  • After you’ve isolated for 5 days, you can end isolation if:
    • You have no fever for 24 hours without taking any fever-reducing medicines
      AND
    • Your symptoms are improving
  • If you have a fever and/or your symptoms have not improved, please remain in isolation

After you end isolation, please strictly mask for another five days – meaning ALWAYS wear a well-fitting N95 (or equivalent) mask WHENEVER you’re around anyone else.

For more detailed information, please visit the DOH Isolation and Exposure Guidelines.

Please note, it is possible to continue having mild symptoms and testing positive for quite a while longer after you’ve stopped being contagious. So, if your symptoms are better AND you’ve self-isolated for a minimum of five days AND you’ve strictly masked for another five days, the risk of passing on the virus is very low.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health Return to Work Health Guidance may be found here: https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/files/2022/08/COVID-19-Return-to-Work-Guidance.pdf

If you have concerns specific to your health situation, please consult your doctor.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine-isolation-background.html (CDC)
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.01.22269931v1 (Yale Medicine)
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm705152e3.htm (CDC)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8832521/ (National Library of Medicine)
https://coronavirus.providence.org/blog/uf/669939767 (Providence Health)

Updated 08/16/2022