COVID-19 Symptoms, Positive Test Results or Close Contact

For general COVID-19 Vaccine information:
- Call Provincial Vaccine Info Line at 1-888-999-6488 (TTY 1-866-797-0007)
- Ask your health care provider
- Book appointment with SHN to speak with a doctor online or call 416-438-2911 ext. 5738
- Book appointment with Sick Kids Hospital to speak with a pediatric nurse about COVID-19 vaccines for youth.
For COVID-19 Vaccine booking information:
Call 905-974-9848, option 7
Case management and Contact tracing efforts by public health units are focused on specific highest risk settings where the person-to-person risk of transmission is high in a vulnerable population. As a result, individuals who have COVID-19 are being asked to notify any of their close contacts that are not in a highest risk setting. If someone you have been in contact with notifies you that you are a close contact, please follow the instructions provided to you related to isolation.
Highest risk settings include:
- Acute care settings such as hospitals, including complex continuing care facilities
- Congregate living settings with medically and socially vulnerable individuals, including but not limited to long-term care homes, retirement homes, First Nation elder care lodges, group homes, shelters, hospices, correctional institutions, and hospital schools
- Employer-provided living settings of international Agricultural Workers
Get Tested for COVID-19
If you have a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at home, you can use it and follow the instructions if you have symptoms/test positive (see below).
Focus on symptoms that are new, worsening or different from an individual’s baseline health status (usual state). If you are feeling unwell or have any of the symptoms listed below, you are required to self-isolate.
If you have one or more of these most common symptoms of COVID-19, get COVID-19 testing and treatment if eligible:
- fever and/or chills
- cough
- shortness of breath
- decrease or loss of taste or smell
If you have two or more of the following symptoms of COVID-19 get COVID-19 testing and treatment if eligible. Note: the presence of even one symptom requires you to self-isolate:
- extreme fatigue, lethargy or malaise (feeling unwell, lack of energy, extreme tiredness)
- muscle aches and joint pain (unexplained, unusual or long-lasting)
- nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea (gastrointestinal symptoms)
- sore throat
- runny nose or stuffy nose
- headache (new and persistent, unusual, unexplained, or long-lasting)
Other symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19 and should be monitored, include:
- Abdominal pain (persistent and ongoing)
- Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
- Decreased/lack of appetite (in young children)
Monitoring symptoms
- Otherwise healthy adults and children can self-isolate at home and monitor for symptoms.
- Some people who are at higher risk of more serious illness will benefit from closer monitoring from their doctor or primary care clinic.
- Guide for patients with COVID-19 symptoms English | Other languages
Who should go to the Emergency Department?
People who are experiencing at least one of the symptoms of COVID-19 and have any of these signs of severe illness:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Weakness
- Lethargy or drowsiness
- Dizziness
If you are not well enough to take personal transportation, call 911.
These infants and children should also be assessed in the emergency department:
- Infants under 3 months of age with fever or trouble breathing or appear unwell
- Children and infants over 3 months of age with any of these symptoms:
- Fever longer than 7 days
- Fast breathing or trouble breathing
- Bluish skin colour
- Not drinking enough fluids
- Not waking up or not interacting
- Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
- Fever with a rash
- Constant vomiting
- Immune compromised with a fever
Communication from Public Health and Province
People who test positive on PCR or rapid molecular tests may be contacted by public health or the provincial case and contact management team. You may receive either a text message, a call, or both in some cases. If you receive a text message from Hamilton Public Health Services or the Ontario Ministry of Health, please do not delete it. It is not a scam.
- The text message may include:
- A secure link to complete a personal assessment form. The form is voluntary and will take about 10 minutes to complete. All information collected through the tool is kept confidential and protected by Ontario’s health laws. It will only be used for public health purposes. After you complete the form, you may receive a call to confirm the information you submitted.
- A text with a link to instructions on how long you and your household members need to self-isolate and what you need to do to help prevent further virus spread.
- You can opt out by texting STOP. Please do not reply to these text messages.

Isolation period for those who are sick or test positive for COVID-19
If you are sick or test positive for COVID-19, you must self-isolate immediately beginning the day your symptoms start. To find out how long you need to isolate, review this chart:
Population | Isolation Period |
---|---|
General public with COVID-19 symptoms OR a positive COVID-19 test | Until symptoms have been improving for 24 (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms) and no fever present. People who test positive but do not have any symptoms do not need to self-isolate unless symptoms develop. If symptoms develop, self-isolate immediately. |
Severe illness (requiring ICU level of care or at discretion of hospital) | 20 days after the date symptoms started or a PCR or RAT test was taken (whichever is earlier/applicable) and until symptoms have been improving for 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms) and no fever present. |
Immunocompromised (receiving cancer chemotherapy, untreated HIV infection with CD4 T lymphocyte count 20 mg/day for more than 14 days and taking other immune suppressive medications) Hospitalized for COVID-19 related illness (or at discretion of hospital) Living in a highest-risk setting such as a Long-Term Care home |
10 days after the date symptoms started or a PCR or RAT test was taken (whichever is earlier/applicable) and until symptoms have been improving for 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms) and no fever present. |
How to Isolate
Stay home
- Do not use public transportation, taxis or rideshares
- Do not go to work, school, child care or other public places
- Only leave home if there is a medical emergency or you need to get a clinical assessment or test.
- You may leave your home for independent outdoor exercise but should maintain physical distance of at least 2 metres (6 feet) from others at all times. Do not go to outdoor fitness classes or personal training sessions. Wear a mask in common areas when leaving the property if self-isolating in an apartment building, condo or hotel.
Limit the number of visitors in your home
- Only have visitors who you must see for critical reasons and keep the visits short
- Keep away from seniors and people with chronic medical conditions (for example, diabetes, lung problems, immune deficiency)
Avoid contact with others
- Stay in a separate room away from other people in your home as much as possible
- Use a separate bathroom if you have one
- Make sure that shared rooms have good airflow (for example, open windows)
Keep distance
- If you are in a room with other people, minimize time spent with others, keep a distance of at least 2 metres and ensure everyone wears a mask that covers their nose, mouth and chin.
- If you are unable to wear a mask, it is very important that other people should wear a mask when they are in the same room as you.
Cover your coughs and sneezes
- 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 waste basket and wash your hands. Lining the wastebasket with a plastic bag makes waste disposal easier and safer.
- After emptying the wastebasket wash your hands.
Wash your hands
- Wash your hands often with soap and water.
- Dry your hands with a paper towel, or with your own cloth towel that no one else uses.
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Wear a mask over your nose and mouth
- Wear a mask if you must leave your house to see a health care provider.
- Wear a mask whenever you might get within 2 metres of other people.
Public Health does not recommend workplaces require doctors notes to return to work after isolation. Public Health does not issue letters indicating persons are released from isolation.
After Self-Isolation
After self-isolation is complete, additional precautions are needed due to risk of infection:
- For a total of 10 days after the start of symptoms (or the date the test was taken, whichever is earlier/applicable), individuals and their close contacts must:
- Wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings
- Individuals should wear a mask as much as possible in public settings. Reasonable exceptions would include temporary removal for essential activities like eating (e.g., when eating in shared space at school/work while maintaining as much distancing from others as possible)
- Individuals can participate in activities where you can wear a mask, but should avoid activities where mask removal would be necessary (e.g., dining out)
- Individuals who are exempt from masking (e.g., children under two years of age, etc.) may return to public settings without masking
- Not visit anyone who is immunocompromised or at higher risk of illness (i.e., seniors)
- Not visit or attend work in any highest risk settings such as hospitals and Long-Term Care homes. If visit cannot be avoided close contact should wear a medical mask, maintain physical distancing, and notify highest risk setting of exposure
- Wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings
- In addition, close contacts of those who tested positive/had COVID-19 symptoms should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop any symptoms of COVID-19
Resources
COVID-19 is spread through close and prolonged contact with a person transmitting the COVID-19 virus. A close contact is someone who had a prolonged exposure in close proximity (within 2 metres) to a person diagnosed with COVID-19. Contact should be considered from (48 hours) before the start of the person’s symptoms or 48 hours before the positive test date.
Who is considered a close contact?
Close Contact
- Your household members are considered close contacts.
- You were within 2 metres of a person who is infectious. There are different activities that increase risk in this case. For example, face to face conversations increase the risk and the longer you spend with an infected person, the greater the risk.
- You had multiple close encounters with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 over a 24-hour period without masking, distancing and/or use of PPE.
- You had close, physical contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19, such as a hug, hand shake or massage.
- You live in the same home as someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
- You worked physically near (less than 2 metres of physical distance) a person who is infectious for a prolonged period of time.
- You took lunch breaks or socialized in the break room with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 and were within 2 metres.
Not a Close Contact
- If you consistently maintained a distance of at least 2 metres away from the individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19.
- You had a very brief, close contact while wearing a mask and/or with a barrier in place.
- You passed by someone quickly.
- You made a delivery to someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 but had no contact within 2 metres of them.
- You worked the same shift as someone diagnosed with COVID-19 but never worked within 2 metres of them.
- You attended the same store as someone diagnosed with COVID-19 but had no direct contact with them (i.e., never came within 2 metres of them).
These are general guidelines that apply to community exposures. For exposures in vulnerable populations such as congregate living centres, guidelines are adapted to protect those at higher risk.
Instructions for close contacts
For 10 days after the last exposure to the person with COVID-19/ COVID-19 symptoms close contacts must:
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Self-monitor for symptoms. If symptoms develop, self-isolate and follow the instructions on this page.
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Wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings
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Individuals should wear a mask as much as possible in public settings. Reasonable exceptions would include temporary removal for essential activities like eating (e.g., when eating in shared space at school/work while maintaining as much distancing from others as possible)
-
Individuals can participate in activities where you can wear a mask, but should avoid activities where mask removal would be necessary (e.g., dining out)
-
Individuals who are exempt from masking (e.g., children under two years of age, etc.) may return to public settings without masking
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Not visit anyone who is immunocompromised or at higher risk of illness (i.e., seniors)
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Not visit any highest risk settings such as hospitals and Long-Term Care homes. If the visit cannot be avoided, the close contact should wear a medical mask, maintain physical distancing, and notify highest risk setting of exposure
If you work or volunteer in a highest risk setting and have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or has COVID-19 symptoms
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If you’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19/has COVID-19 symptoms and work/volunteer/attend in a highest risk setting, you can follow this guidance, and may continue to work, if you do not have symptoms (unless otherwise directed by public health). You should also:
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Speak with your employer to report their exposure and follow their workplace guidance for return to work.
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Self-monitor for symptoms for a total of 10 days after the last exposure to the COVID-19 positive case or individual with COVID-19 symptoms
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Self-isolate immediately if you develop any symptom of COVID-19 and seek testing if eligible.
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Individuals who are required to work in person may attend the highest risk setting right away following the guidance below:
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Where feasible, close contacts with a household (ongoing) exposure obtain an immediate PCR or rapid molecular test, and re-testing at day 5 from initial exposure if initial test was negative.
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Where feasible, close contacts with a discrete (one-time) high-risk exposure obtain PCR or rapid molecular testing at day 5 from initial exposure.
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Testing of close contacts with rapid antigen testing for 10 days may be recommended (as an alternative to PCR/molecular testing and/or in addition to PCR/molecular testing) based on setting specific IPAC and/or Occupational Health direction.
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Where testing is recommended, individuals may continue to attend the highest risk setting even if test results are pending or if testing was not obtained, unless otherwise directed by their IPAC/Occupational health lead.
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Active screening for symptoms ahead of each shift.
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Individuals should not remove their mask when in the presence of other staff to reduce exposure to co-workers (i.e., not eating meals/drinking in a shared space such as conference room or lunch room).
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Working in only one facility, where possible.
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Ensuring well-fitting source control masking for the staff to reduce the risk of transmission (e.g., a well-fitting medical mask or fit or non-fit tested N95 respirator or KN95).
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If you live in a Long-term Care Home or Retirement Home and you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or has COVID-19 symptoms, you should:
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If you are a roommate of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you should self-isolate and be placed on additional precautions. Individuals who remain asymptomatic may discontinue isolation after a minimum of 5 days of isolation following a negative molecular COVID-19 test taken on or after Day 5 (from onset of isolation period).
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All other non-roommate residents should be encouraged to wear a well-fitting mask and maintain distance from others for 10 days after last exposure. Monitor for symptoms twice a day.
If you live in a Congregate Living Setting, such as a group home or shelter, and you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or has COVID-19 symptoms, you should:
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Wear a mask and maintain distance from others for 10 days after last exposure while in the highest risk setting. Self-monitor for symptoms.
While outside of the highest risk setting you can follow the above community guidance “Instructions for close contacts”.
Tell others
Tell your employer that you have had a high-risk exposure to someone with COVID-19. Speak with their employer to report your exposure and follow their workplace guidance for return to work.
Self-Monitor for symptoms
Even if not required to self-isolate, all close contacts should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.
Get tested for COVID-19
Find out if you are eligible for publicly-funded COVID-19 testing
If you have a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at home, you can use it and follow the instructions.
If you do not have symptoms you should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if any symptoms develop.
Where can I get more information?
Community members looking to speak to a live agent about COVID-19 will be able to call Health811 (Dial 811)
Mild illness - self-care at home
Otherwise healthy adults and children who are not at higher risk can self-isolate, and will not need to seek medical care.
- If you have symptoms, read how to care for yourself and what to watch for English | Other languages
- Taking care of a child with COVID-19 symptoms
- Guidance on what you should do if you have symptoms
Moderate to severe illness and/or symptoms getting worse
If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you have several options for care:
Have a family doctor
- If you are at higher-risk (see below)* and have symptoms and/or you have tested positive on a rapid antigen test (RAT) or PCR test, you should contact your family doctor regarding care.
- Contact your doctor if you are unsure what care you required.
- Higher-risk individuals (see below)* who have symptoms should get tested within one to two days of symptom onset either using a rapid antigen test (RAT) or a PCR test. Book a COVID-19 PCR test
- Higher-risk individuals who test positive may be eligible for COVID-19 treatment
- Screen yourself for COVID-19 antiviral treatment
- Your doctor may prescribe antiviral treatment that can be picked up at a local pharmacy.
- Read more about antiviral treatment
- See above for how to manage self-care at home
- Information from doctors on when to seek care
Individuals at high-risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19 are:
- 60 years of age and older
- 18 years of age and are immunocompromised
- 18 – 59 years old with:
- One or more underlying medical conditions (such as diabetes, heart or lung disease), or
- Inadequate immunity against COVID-19 from:
- Not receiving a full primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine
- Having received a full primary series but no COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 infection within the past six (6) months
- For more information, please see Ontario’s COVID-19 Testing and Treatment guidance
No access to a family doctor
If you have are higher risk and have symptoms but do not have access to a family doctor, screen yourself for COVID-19 antiviral treatment. If you think you may be eligible for treatment, and do not have a doctor, book a PCR test or take a rapid antigen test (RAT) at home to determine if you have COVID-19.
If you do not have a family doctor and have moderate illness or worsening symptoms, you may be able to access virtual care online.
Severe illness - seek emergency care
- If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 right away.
- Learn more about your healthcare options in Hamilton
Antiviral treatment is currently available for individuals at high risk of severe COVID-19+, as determined by a clinician.
- Individuals who are at high risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19 if they become infected should speak with their health care provider (doctor) to learn about treatment options and develop a treatment plan. Having this information when well, will help individuals know how they can access testing and treatment if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.
- You can be referred by a health care provider to an in-person COVID Care Clinic to be assessed to receive treatment or you can pick up antiviral treatment at a participating pharmacy with a prescription.
- Individuals at high-risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19 are:
- 60 years of age and older
- 18 years of age and are immunocompromised
- 18 – 59 years old with:
- One or more underlying medical conditions (such as diabetes, heart or lung disease), or
- Inadequate immunity against COVID-19 from:
- Not receiving a full primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine
- Having received a full primary series but no COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 infection within the past six (6) months
- For more information see Ontario’s COVID-19 Testing and Treatment guidance