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Self-quarantining (staying at home) due to coronavirus

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, you may need to stay at home and not receive visitors. This is called self-quarantining. You need to stay at home or in your accommodation if you have COVID-19 symptoms, such as a runny nose or fever. How long you need to self-quarantine, and what the rules are, depends on the situation.

Situations in which you need to stay at home

After infection with coronavirus it can take between 2 and 10 days for symptoms, such as a cough or shortness of breath, to appear. This means that you can spread coronavirus even if you don’t have symptoms of COVID-19. To prevent this, in some situations you will need to stay home and not receive visitors.

You should self-quarantine in the following situations:

You have symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, self-quarantine and get tested for coronavirus.

Members of your household must also stay at home

If you live with other people, they need to stay home as well if you have severe symptoms such as fever or shortness of breath.

If they develop symptoms themselves, they must also get tested for coronavirus. Anyone who gets tested must stay at home until the test result is known.

If everyone in a household has to stay at home, this is called ‘household quarantine’.

You have coronavirus

If you have been tested and the results confirm that you have coronavirus, the municipal health service (GGD) will contact you. The GGD will tell you what you need to do, for example self-isolate at home.

Members of your household and close contacts must also stay at home

If you live with other people, they must also self-quarantine for 10 days. The same applies to close contacts. These are people who have been in close contact with you (within 1.5 metres for at least 15 minutes). For example, a partner that you do not live with, a travelling companion or a colleague. lf they develop symptoms of COVID-19, they should also get tested.

Someone you live with has severe symptoms of coronavirus

If anyone in your household has severe symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), such as fever or shortness of breath, everyone in your household must stay at home, even if they have no symptoms themselves.

If anyone develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should get tested. Everyone in your household must stay at home until the test results are known.

You have been in close contact with someone with coronavirus

If you have been in close contact with someone with coronavirus (within 1.5 metres for at least 15 minutes) – for example, a partner, travelling companion or colleague – you should self-quarantine for 10 days from the day you last had close contact. If you develop symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), make an appointment for a coronavirus test. Stay at home or in your accommodation until you receive the results.

You are travelling to the Netherlands from abroad

If you are travelling to the Netherlands from a COVID-19 risk area, you should self-quarantine for 10 days. A number of exemptions apply. For example, children aged to 12 can go to school, out-of-school care and sports clubs.

You can find out more on the page about self-quarantine upon arrival in the Netherlands.

Self-quarantine rules

The following rules apply to everyone during self-quarantine:

  • Only members of your household may be at home with you. You must stay 1.5 metres away from them as much as possible. This means no hugging, kissing or sex.
  • Nobody may visit you, except for medical purposes (for example, a doctor or a GGD official).
  • If you need medical assistance, do not go to the doctor or the hospital, but phone the doctor instead.
  • Ask other people to do grocery shopping for you. If that is not possible you can leave your house or accommodation to go shopping, but only if you do not have any symptoms of COVID-19.
  • You can sit outside if you have a garden or balcony.
  • Do not go to your place of work, but work from home. If you are a healthcare professional you may, only in exceptional cases and under certain conditions, go to work. Discuss this with the municipal health service (GGD) or your company doctor.
  • Do not use public transport.

Help and support during quarantine

If there is no-one nearby who can help you with shopping or collecting your children from school, for example, you can contact your municipality for support. You can also call the Red Cross national helpline (+31 (0)70 4455 888) to find out if help is available in your neighbourhood.

If you need someone to talk to during quarantine, contact the national Listening Line (Landelijke Luisterlijn) on 0900 0767.

Self-quarantine shortened from 14 to 10 days

Until 18 August 2020, self-quarantine lasted for 14 days. Source and contact tracing conducted by the Dutch municipal health services (GGDs) has shown that a 10-day quarantine is safe. In 99% of cases, if someone who lives with or has had contact with a COVID-19 patient gets ill, they develop symptoms within 10 days.

If you went into self-quarantine before 18 August, you can stop after 10 days if you do not develop symptoms.

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