The Mississippi State Department of Health is now operating a hotline for convenient answers to questions about COVID-19 by phone.

The Mississippi coronavirus hotline at 877-978-6453 is available 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

While not all quarantines are the same, the CDC recommends the following if you have tested positive for COVID-19:

• Make it a “staycation:” Avoid leaving home unless absolutely necessary, such as to visit a health care provider. 
• Check with your health care provider to see if a virtual visit is possible.
• Though the CDC says there’s no evidence that companion animals can spread COVID-19, it may still be good to still use caution. If you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, avoid “petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked and sharing food [during a coronavirus quarantine].”
• “Don’t share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels or bedding with other people or pets in your home,” says the CDC.
• Wash, rinse, repeat: Hygiene is an integral part of care right now, even at home. Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as a first line of defense when under quarantine. Hand sanitizers with minimum 60 percent alcohol can be used if you can wash utilize soap and water immediately
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and then throw the tissue away immediately.