COVID-19 affects everyone differently, and it can leave you laid up for days or weeks. If a friend or family member is incapacitated with COVID-19 (or another, similar illness), it can be hard to know how to help them. It is difficult to spend time with them without risking exposure, but there are things you can do to make life easier for them.

Doing favors like grocery shopping, doing laundry, and dropping off activities can be very helpful for someone who is fatigued, achy, and fighting boredom. A common concern of those with COVID-19 is the inability to do small, everyday chores.

Frequent check-ins are a good idea to monitor how well they are recovering. Eric R. Goldberg, MD, an internist at NYU Langone Health, says that every household should have a thermometer to track fever and a finger-based pulse oximeter to measure a person’s blood oxygen. If you know a person with COVID-19 who doesn’t have these items, it’s a good idea to supply them.

“If they can’t finish a sentence without gasping for air or struggling for air, then that’s a sign that they’re not recovering according to plan,” Dr. Goldberg tells The Washington Post.

Finally, sometimes the best thing to do for your loved one is to ask them what you can do for them. It lets them know that you care, and you don’t have to guess at what would be the most helpful.

Read more from The Washington Post.