Ontario introduces shortened isolation periods, new testing guidelines
Ontario is shortening its COVID-19 isolation period for some individuals and introducing new testing guidelines for the public, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced Thursday.
Effective immediately, the province is shortening the required isolation period from ten days to five for vaccinated individuals.
Moore said the decision was made based on "growing evidence that generally healthy people with COVID-19 are most infectious for the two days before their symptoms develop and for three days after."
Individuals with COVID-19 who are vaccinated, as well as children under 12, will only be required to isolate for five days following the onset of symptoms. Isolation for these individuals can end after the five-day period as long as their symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours, the government says. Their household contacts will also be required to isolate with them.
Individuals who are not fully vaccinated or are immunocompromised will still be required to isolate for 10 days.
Individuals who work or live in high-risk health-care settings should not attend work for 10 days, the province says, but will now have “the opportunity” to return to work after isolating for seven days with proof of a negative PCR or rapid antigen test results “to ensure sufficient staffing levels.”
If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID 19 and you are fully vaccinated, have no symptoms and don't live with a positive case, the province is now recommending monitoring for symptoms for 10 days.
NEW TESTING GUIDELINES
Moore also announced revised COVID-19 testing guidelines for the province on Thursday.
Beginning Dec. 31, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will only be available for symptomatic high-risk individuals and those who work in the highest risk settings, as well as vulnerable populations. However, Ontario public schools will remain one of the few groups permitted to distribute PCR tests to symptomatic students and staff.
For a full list of those eligible for PCR testing, click here.
Members of the general public with mild symptoms are now being asked not to seek testing.
“If you have symptoms of COVID-19, are not eligible for a PCR test and do not have access to a rapid antigen test, you should assume that you have COVID-19 and isolate according to our revised guidelines,” Moore said.
In addition, most individuals with a positive result from a rapid antigen test will no longer be required or encouraged to get a confirmatory PCR or rapid molecular test. They will also not be required to report their results to their corresponding public health unit, unless otherwise directed by public health.
At this point, the province is recommended that rapid antigen COVID-19 tests be used "for screening of people with no symptoms to identify and prevent cases of COVID-19 in hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, and other high-risk settings."
Following Thursday’s announcement, Ontario’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Andrea Horwath called on Premier Ford to reverse the decision to restrict testing, claiming Ford was "surrending Ontario to COVID-19."
"People are reeling from Ford’s decision to deny free [COVID-19] PCR tests to all but high-risk symptomatic people,” Horwath said in a statement issued Thursday. “We need to ramp up to make testing more available, not cut people off.”
"Meanwhile, telling people to simply stay home instead of getting a test is shockingly cruel when Ford won’t give people adequate paid sick days,” she said.
The province also announced reduced capacity limits at large spectator venues, and delayed the return to school until Jan. 5 on Thursday.
Ontario reported 13,807 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, shattering past single-day records in the province.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.