• We will ask you a few questions when you schedule your appointment to help identify any symptoms or recent exposures you may have had to COVID-19.  
• We will call you 12 to 48 hours prior to your appointment to repeat these questions. If any concerns are identified, our medical support team will provide medical advice and determine if we need to update your appointments.

• Patients, visitors and staff are required to wear a mask to decrease the risk of COVID-19 exposure.  Please bring your own face mask or covering to wear while at Mayo. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has details on appropriate face coverings.  
• You are also being asked to not bring children under age 13 unless they are actively receiving care in the clinic setting.
• Due to additional screening activities when entering Mayo Clinic Health System buildings, please allow extra time upon arrival (approximately 15 minutes).  
• Valet services are not available.

Mayo Clinic Health System has taken several temporary measures to keep you safe. Below is more information to help you prepare for your appointment. 

• No visitors will be allowed in the hospital setting or emergency department.
• Exceptions include considerations for childbirth, end-of-life care, hospitalized children, and other rare and unique circumstances reviewed on a case by case basis by the care team.
• Mayo Clinic Health System is requiring patients, visitors and staff to wear a face covering or mask to slow the spread of COVID-19.  

Your cooperation with these temporary guidelines is very much appreciated. It is difficult to not be able to visit your friends and family, but these are necessary and appropriate steps that will help ensure that you and your loved ones remain protected.

If you have employees showing symptoms of COVID-19, we strongly recommend they call the COVID-19 Nurse Line at 507-293-9525 for immediate assistance.

Employers in Southeast Minnesota (Albert Lea, Austin, Cannon Falls, Faribault, Lake City, Owatonna and Red Wing) with Occupational Health needs or questions regarding COVID-19 are welcome to call us at 507-446-1775 or send us an email. 

Printable flyers are available to post in your workplace in the following languages:

• English
• Spanish
• Karen
• Kayah
• Hmong
• Somali

For guidance on how to manage COVID-19 in your workplace, visit the CDC website for up-to-date information.

COVID-19 is a newly identified respiratory virus in the coronavirus family, but it is more severe and spreads easily. Diagnosis is difficult because it shares several symptoms with influenza. COVID-19 infection may appear two to 14 days after exposure and can include fever, cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Symptoms for COVID-19 include:

• Fever of 100.0 F or above
• New cough
• New chills
• New muscle aches
• Sore throat
• Diarrhea
• New loss of smell or taste or change in taste

If you have emergency COVID-19 signs and symptoms, such as trouble breathing, chest pain or pressure, confusion, or blue lips or face, seek medical care immediately.

If you are showing any sign of possible COVID-19 symptoms, please contact your local health care provider.  Your provider or a nurse will direct you to our dedicated COVID-19 Nurse Line. If you meet testing criteria, you will be directed to one of our local testing sites.

Help us minimize potential exposure to other patients by not coming into a clinic or hospital to be tested. Please call your local provider first to find out how to be evaluated. Our Express Care, Urgent Care and Same Day Clinics are open and available by appointment only.  

COVID-19 is thought to spread similarly to influenza. That is, it spreads person to person through respiratory droplets from an infected person's cough or sneeze. These droplets can land on surfaces within about 6 feet and can spread to other people after they contact these infected surfaces with their hands and subsequently touch their face.

Yes, you can catch COVID-19 from an object if the surface of that object has live virus on it. How long the virus can live outside an organism is unknown. Expert estimates range from a few hours to up to nine days, depending on the type of surface, surrounding temperature and environment.

Mayo Clinic Health System’s number-one priority is the safety of our patients and staff. We have implemented numerous safety measures, including robust patient screening, universal masking, and enhanced cleaning of patient care, staff and waiting spaces. Mayo Clinic Health System staff at all locations have been trained and are prepared to care for patients with serious infections like COVID-19. We stand ready to assist our patients, visitors and employees.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic has temporarily closed all in-person locations where patients typically pick up copies of their protected health information.

You may obtain your medical records by:

• Southeast Minnesota
  • Phone: 507-668-2024
  • Fax: 507-422-0902
  • Email: mchsmnhimsroi@mayo.edu
• Southwest Minnesota
  • Phone: 507-594-2621
  • Fax: 507-422-0902
  • Email: mchsmnhimsroi@mayo.edu
• Wisconsin
  • Phone: 715-838-6395
  • Fax: 715-838-3058
  • Email: mchsmnhimsroi@mayo.edu
• Patient Online Services: Submit a customer service for release of information by following these steps:
  • Select Share My Records from the menu
  • Select Requested Records
  • Click the link on "send us a customer service request."
• You can also view your protected health information through Patient Online Services.

No. We will treat patients with a suspected infectious disease with an abundance of caution. Mayo Clinic Health System is dedicated to being a reliable partner in helping you manage your health by providing a safe environment.

Yes.

Yes, Mayo Clinic Health System is prepared to treat patients with COVID-19, and will treat patients as part of a community wide plan in coordination with public health authorities.

Scheduling a video appointment is one option to connect with a provider at this time. You will be able to connect with your provider using Patient Online Services and communication software that follows health information privacy rules.

• This video shows how one patient used a video appointment as part of her postoperative care.
• Learn more about how video appointments are changing the way patients receive care.
• Use these tips to help you prepare if you are scheduled for a video visit.

• The basic premise of preventing disease transmission is to identify patients who show symptoms, isolate those patients from others for appropriate assessment, and inform appropriate staff and authorities for further response. If people appear with symptoms, they will be asked to wear a mask and answer a series of questions about their health and travel. Based on their answers and vital signs, they will be isolated from other patients while COVID-19 test results can be verified. This may take several days.
• Patients who test positive for COVID-19 are isolated and treated. Currently, there is no antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Specific interventions are taken in more severe cases, or with patients with compromised immune systems or complex illnesses.

When you log in to Patient Online Services on the web or through the Mayo Clinic app, you'll see a link to a free COVID-19 self-assessment tool. On the homepage of Patient Online Services, you'll be able to access an online COVID-19 self-assessment tool. Click on that tool, and you'll be asked to answer a few questions. You'll immediately receive a response providing information on whether you may need to be tested for COVID-19 or not.

To avoid COVID-19, you should:

• Practice social distancing.
• Wear a cloth mask as recommended by CDC guidelines.
• Keep your hands clean.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Cover your cough and sneezes to keep germs from spreading to others.
• Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces routinely.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.

In light of new data about how COVID-19 spreads, along with evidence of widespread COVID-19 illness in communities across the country, the CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting. This is an additional public health measure people should take to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in addition to (not instead of) social distancing, frequent hand cleaning and other everyday preventive actions. A cloth face covering is not intended to protect the wearer, but may prevent the spread of virus from the wearer to others. This would be especially important in the event that someone is infected but does not have symptoms. A cloth face covering should be worn whenever people must go into public settings (grocery stores, for example). Medical masks and N-95 respirators are reserved for health care workers and other first responders as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Learn how to wear and care for your cloth mask here. 

Local departments of public health and the CDC are responsible for publicly reporting COVID-19 cases.

Mayo Clinic Health System is committed to the privacy of its patients and complies with all applicable laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. As always, Mayo Clinic Health System does not share patient-specific information with the media without prior authorization. Also, Mayo Clinic Health System collaborates with public health authorities, including the CDC and local public health authorities, as appropriate. These authorities are best-positioned to provide public health information.

Many of these answers reference statements and standards already communicated by the CDC — the definitive source for prevention and procedure for infectious diseases in the U.S.