A: If you had close contact with your boss and it was < 48 hours before they tested positive (or developed symptoms), but you are boosted, guidance is to wear a mask for 10 days and watch for symptoms.
We get asked this type of “Am I exposed and, if so, what do I do?” question A LOT! We get it, it’s confusing and hard to keep track of the latest recommendations (found here).
Here’s how to think about this step-by-step.
1. Figure out if you had close contact. The technical definition of close contact is being < 6 feet from someone for > 15 mins over a 24 hour period (regardless of whether you or the other person wore a mask).
If the answer is ‘no’, no actions are recommended. Remember though, this is not a hard and fast rule for close contact, only a guideline.
If the answer is ‘yes’, go to the next step.
2. Figure out if the close contact occurred in the right window of time for you to be considered ‘exposed’. If your close contact with the person was during the 48 hours before they tested positive or developed symptoms and/or up until they can end their isolation period, this means you had close contact in the *right time frame* to be considered ‘exposed’.
If your answer is ‘no’, you don’t need to take any further action.
If your answer is ‘yes’, then you should take action according to your vaccination status (see next step).
3. Figure out if you are up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccinations. If you have received all the doses in the primary series corresponding to your vaccine type and one booster dose once you were eligible, you are considered up-to-date (more info here).
If you are up-to-date, the guidance is to wear a mask around others for 10 days after the day of exposure, monitor for symptoms and isolate if you become ill, and get tested 5 or more days after you were exposed.
If you are unvaccinated or not up-to-date, the guidance is to stay home for 5 days after the day of exposure, wear a well-fitting mask around others through day 10 after exposure, monitor for symptoms and isolate if you become ill, and get tested 5 or more days after you were exposed.
If you had COVID-19 in the last 90 days, recommendation is the same as for those who are up-to-date (minus the testing).
If you want help figuring this out for your particular situation, there is a handy on-line calculator that tells you how long you need to quarantine and/or wear a mask after exposure (or isolate if sick) based on your date of exposure and vaccination status. Check it out here.
To see a past post with another example helping someone figure out if they were exposed and what do to, see here.
To see how to search our past posts to see if we’ve answered a similar question before, see here.
