These symptoms include:

• fever or chills, OR
• cough, OR
• shortness of breath, OR
• decreased or loss of taste or smell, OR

• runny nose or nasal congestion
• headache
• extreme fatigue
• sore throat
• muscle aches or joint pain
• gastrointestinal symptoms (such as vomiting or diarrhea)

If you are fully vaccinated or under 12 years old, you must isolate for 5 days from when your symptoms started. If you are not fully vaccinated or are immunocompromised, you must isolate for 10 days from when your symptoms started. You can end isolation only if your symptoms are improved for at least 24 hours, you have no fever, and all public health and safety measures, such as masking and physical distancing, are followed. All household contacts must also isolate for the same duration regardless of their vaccination status. 

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should also consider informing close contacts beyond your household contacts by providing them with the link to Ontario.ca/exposed. Individuals who are eligible for a lab-based PCR test are encouraged to get tested. If an individual is ineligible for lab-based PCR testing but is symptomatic and has access to rapid antigen testing (RAT), it may be used to assess the likelihood of COVID-19. A positive rapid antigen test result in an individual that has symptoms consistent with COVID-19 is highly suggestive that the person has COVID-19.

If the individual is fully vaccinated or under 12 years of age, they are advised to self-isolate for 5 days from symptom onset and until their symptoms have improved for 24 hours (or 48 hours if they have gastrointestinal symptoms). Do not visit any high-risk settings or individuals who may be at higher risk of illness (e.g., seniors) until 10 days after symptom onset or positive rapid antigen test (whichever is earlier).

If the individual is partially vaccinated or unvaccinated, or if they are immunocompromised, they should self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms, or from the date of their test (whichever came sooner).

If you have concerns about your symptoms, contact your doctor, health care provider, or visit the Erie Shores HealthCare COVID Clinical Assessment Centre. An appointment can be booked online (/COVID19AssessmentCentre). If you develop severe symptoms requiring medical attention, such as shortness of breath or chest pain, call 911.

If you do not have symptoms of COVID-19 but are feeling unwell, isolate yourself until symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours.

• Self-monitor for symptoms for 10 days since you last interacted with the positive case
• Maintain masking, physical distancing, and adherence to all other public health measures if leaving home
• Do not visit any high-risk settings or individuals who may be at higher risk of illness (e.g., seniors) for 10 days from your last exposure

Individuals who are eligible for testing are encouraged to get tested. If you live, work, attend, volunteer, or have been admitted in a high-risk health care setting, you must get tested as soon as possible.

If you are a worker or volunteer, you must notify your employer and should not visit the high-risk setting for 10 days from your last exposure unless directed through critical infrastructure or health care guidance for early return to work.

When self-isolating, you are advised to:

Stay home:

• Do not go to work, school, or other public places;
• Stay home unless you need to get tested or require emergency medical care; and
• Do not use public transportation, taxis, or rideshares. •

• No visitors unless essential (e.g., care providers);
• Stay away from seniors and people with chronic medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, lung problems, immune deficiency);
• As much as possible, stay in a separate room away from other people in your home and use a separate bathroom if you have one;
• Make sure that shared rooms have good airflow (e.g., open windows); and
• If these steps are not possible, keep a distance of at least 2 metres from others at all times and wear a mask.

• If you are in a room with other people, keep a distance of at least 2 metres and wear a mask or face covering that covers your nose and mouth; and
• People should wear a mask when they are in the same room as you.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water;
• Dry your hands with a paper towel or with a cloth towel that no one else will share; and
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze;
• Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hand;
• Throw used tissues in a lined wastebasket, and wash your hands;
• Lining the wastebasket with a plastic bag makes waste disposal safer; and
• Clean your hands after emptying the wastebasket.

While the risks for severe illness may be lower with Omicron than with other variants, it is far more transmissible, and hospitalizations are expected to continue to increase. placing greater pressure on our health system. Staff absenteeism is also expected to rise and affect operations in workplaces across Ontario due to Omicron infection and exposure, including in hospitals and schools.

Given increasing hospitalizations and the strain on health human resources, the Chief Medical Officer of Health is reinstating Directive #2 requiring hospitals and health care professionals to temporarily cease non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures in hospitals and in community settings so resources may be directed to.