If you are identified as a close contact, it means you’ve been exposed to the virus because you spent time around someone who has COVID-19. In general, a close contact means being less than six feet from someone for 15 minutes or more throughout a 24-hour period. However, even shorter periods of time or longer distances can result in spread of the virus. COVID-19 can take up to 14 days to make you sick, and some people with COVID-19 never feel sick, so you need to stay home and away from others so you don't spread the virus without knowing it. This is called quarantine.