COVID-19: General Information

Basic information and popular resources for COVID-19.

On this page:

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to influenza (flu) and include:

  • Coughing into elbow

    Cough

  • Headache

    Headache

  • lungs

    Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • Sore throat

    Sore throat

  • Person with thermometer in mouth

    Fever or Chills

  • No smell

    New loss of taste or smell

  • Person fatigued

    Fatigue

  • Nose dripping

    Congestion or runny nose

  • Leg pain

    Muscle or body aches

  • Nausea

    Nausea or vomiting

  • toilet

    Diarrhea

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

Most patients experience relatively mild symptoms and can recover at home. Some patients, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, may experience more severe respiratory illness. Learn more about COVID-19 symptoms.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, MIS-C, is a serious but rare complication of COVID-19 that causes inflammation of certain body parts.

Prevent COVID-19

  • washing hands

    Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer

  • not touching eye

    Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

  • socially distanced

    Avoid close contact with people who are sick

  • house

    Stay home while you're sick and avoid close contact with others

  • girl with face mask

    Wear a cloth face covering in public, both in indoor and outdoor spaces. Cloth face coverings are not required for children under age 2.

  • syringe

    Get a COVID vaccine when it is available to you

  • socially distanced

    Practice social distancing

What To Do If You Are sick.

Please see Maine CDC's COVID FAQs (PDF) for questions about what to do if you are under-insured.

Recommendations for COVID Positive Cases

Maine CDC created informational packets with recommendations for certain groups: