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
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.