If you test positive for COVID-19 whether on a rapid test or with a PCR test, York Region Public Health is asking you to reach out to close contacts yourself.
Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, public health is focusing on contact tracing for the highest risk settings and individuals, according to Patrick Casey, director of corporate communications for York Region.
"With this change, York Region Public Health may delay reaching out to individuals outside these high-risk settings who test positive and may no longer be able to notify their close contacts," he said.
York Region is now telling residents who test positive to self-isolate immediately and start notifying their household and close contacts.
Currently, a close contact is defined as someone you had intimate contact with such as hugging or kissing and "anyone you have spent time with at a close distance of 2 metres or less for a total of 10 minutes or more when face masks were not consistently worn."
If someone in your household tests positive, you are required to isolate for 10 days from your last exposure to them, regardless of your vaccination status.
However, non-household close contacts are not required to isolate if they are fully vaccinated and not showing any symptoms. Those who are not fully vaccinated or have symptoms of COVID-19 have to self-isolate for 10 days.
These guidelines apply to positive cases confirmed by rapid test or PCR tests.
While a positive rapid test ideally would be followed up with a PCR test taken 48 hours later, Casey said that might not be possible right now.
"With high demand for PCR testing right now due to the spread of the omicron variant, individuals who test positive with a rapid antigen test should consider themselves to be a positive case, even without a follow-up PCR test," he said.
Those who test positive with a rapid test are asked to complete this online survey provided by York Region Public Health.
The anonymous survey allows public health to understand the COVID-19 situation and provide guidance to those who get a positive result from a rapid test. As it is anonymous, public health will not be contacting individuals from the survey.
