What to do if you’re sick with coronavirus? Call your doctor and stay home

Experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are advising people who are mildly sick with what might be COVID-19 to call a doctor about the symptoms but stay home. That’s because of the scarcity of tests for the novel coronavirus, even in the Seattle area, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.

Knowing the symptoms of COVID-19 is important, but medical providers say they need to save tests and treatment right now for the sickest of the sick. They also say a trip to a clinic or hospital could be dangerous because of possibly getting exposed to the virus or spreading it.

If you develop a fever, cough and shortness of breath, the CDC says, call your doctor. Get immediate help if you have “emergency warning signs” such as trouble breathing, chest pain or pressure, confusion, or “bluish lips or face.”

But numerous Seattle-area residents have said they’ve called their health care provider with those symptoms and been told to stay home, isolate and come back only if they get worse.