COVID-19 - Preparing For Positive Cases In Your Home
COVID-19 - Preparing For Positive Cases In Your Home
There are some things whānau can do to prepare for positive cases in their home, as well as having the COVID-19 vaccine. These include preparing a kit with essential items, making a COVID-19 home plan, and preparing to self-isolate if you, your child or someone else in your household test positive.
Prepare to self-isolate
If someone in your home tests positive for COVID-19, they will have to self-isolate.
Friends and family can help drop items to your house. Your doctor or local pharmacy may be able to arrange a medicine delivery to your home.
There are some important things you can do to prepare your household if you, your child or whānau get COVID-19:
- have a plan ready which includes key people who can help deliver items to your house
- have basic medical supplies
- prepare a COVID-19 essentials kit
Start to think about how members of your whānau will self-isolate if they test positive. If someone has COVID-19 it is best they avoid contact with others. Is there a room they can stay in alone? Is there a separate bathroom they can use?
Find out how to isolate at home with children
Watch a video on how to prepare
Read Unite Against COVID-19's advice on how to prepare.
Make a COVID-19 home plan
Contact family and friends and ask them to help your whānau if someone in your household tests positive. Write down the plan so everyone in your household can see it.
Other things to consider:
- friends and family may be able to drop off supplies to your household if you're isolating - or you can use a food delivery service
- some people in your household might have specific needs and care arrangements - think about how you can care for them if your household has to isolate
- if you have pets, make sure you have enough food for them too
- find out from your child's school how best you can support them to learn from home
- think about how you can look after your own and your family's mental wellbeing if any of you get COVID-19 and your household has to isolate
Check out other COVID-19 resources, including some in te reo Māori on the Protect Our Whakapapa Facebook page and on the Otago Community Trust website.
Create a COVID-19 care kit with essential items
Prepare ahead by making a COVID-19 care kit with essential items, including medicine, disinfectant, hand sanitiser and rubbish bags.
Have basic medical supplies at home, including pain relief, lozenges and a thermometer.
Have these essential and helpful items ready
See Prepare Pacific's COVID-19 care kit (PDF, 6MB).
Find more information from Prepare Pacific about how Pacific communities can prepare for COVID-19.
More KidsHealth content on COVID-19
See KidsHealth's section on COVID-19
See all KidsHealth's content on COVID-19 immunisation in children
This page last reviewed 13 September 2022.
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