COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

If you test positive for COVID-19:

• Make sure to stay home for at least 5 days. Isolate yourself from other people in your home and monitor your symptoms.
• Contact your doctor for treatment options right away. You can get treatments for mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. Do not wait to see if you get sicker.
• After isolating for 5 days, you can end your isolation if you are fever-free for 24 hours and your symptoms are improving.

If you experience any emergency warning signs, such as trouble breathing, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

More information is available on the CDC’s isolation page.

Urgent care is available

If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you can go to urgent care. Urgent care is for health care you need within 48 hours to prevent serious damage to your health from sudden illness, injury or a complication you already have.

Can’t see your doctor? Call the Nurse Advice Line.

If you are unable to see your doctor and you have COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, you can also call the Nurse Advice Line (NAL). A registered nurse will help you decide what to do next. The NAL is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. It’s fast, easy and at no cost to you. Call: 844-971-8907. TTY: Dial 711.

When to go to the emergency room

Monitor your symptoms and get immediate medical care if you have emergency warning signs (including trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or blue-colored skin, lips and/or nails).

COVID-19 treatments help people recover faster or protect certain people who have a weakened immune system. If you have COVID-19 symptoms and test positive, you can get medication treatment right away. Contact your provider as soon as possible or visit an urgent care location for treatment options.

Some pharmacies may be able to give you a prescription for treatment. Call your pharmacy to see if they offer this service.

Paxlovid and Veklury are medicines for adults with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. These medications can keep COVID-19 from getting serious. They can also help lower your risk of having to stay at the hospital. These medicines work best when taken within the first 5-7 days of symptoms. You can get both of these medicines at no cost to you. You can get Paxlovid through a pharmacy. Veklury is a medicine that is injected. It can only be given at your doctor's office. 

COVID-19 testing is available to everyone.

Please note that some sites may charge for testing or treatment. Visit the California Department of Public Health website to find a testing site.  You can use the “Filter results” dropdown to search for locations that offer free testing and/or treatment. Click “Learn more” to check if a location offers testing, requires an appointment or charges fees.

At-home COVID-19 tests are also available.

You can get over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests to use at home that are approved by the FDA. To see the list of FDA-approved tests, visit the FDA's At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests page.

How to get free COVID-19 tests if you have Medi-Cal

• Get the Medi-Cal card(s) for each person in your family. Each person with a Medi-Cal card can receive up to 8 free tests (or 4 boxes if each box has 2 tests) each month with their card.
• Go to a pharmacy or a store with a pharmacy. Find a pharmacy online at Medi-Cal Rx's Find a Pharmacy page or call Medi-Cal Rx at 800-977-2273.
• Go to the pharmacy counter where prescriptions are dropped off. Other registers in the store cannot provide free COVID-19 tests.
• Show your Medi-Cal card(s) and ask for 8 at-home COVID-19 antigen tests for each person.

Alliance Care IHSS members

You can get up to 8 at-home test kits per month at no cost to you. Visit a pharmacy in MedImpact’s network. Bring the tests you chose at the store to the pharmacy counter. Show your member ID card and ask to have tests submitted to your insurance. Find a pharmacy online at MedImpact's Pharmacy Search page or call the Alliance at 800-700-3874.

You can purchase tests online or in pharmacies and stores through November 11, 2023. You can be reimbursed for up to 8 at-home test kits per month, with a maximum of $12 per test. Visit MedImpact's At-home COVID-19 Tests page to get started with your reimbursement.

Learn more about at-home tests on the CDC’s Self-Testing At Home or Anywhere page.