This Version Posted: October 6, 2021
Have you been identified as a high-risk contact? This means you have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
- Use this Ontario Government flow chart to determine what to do next if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
What to Do if You Are a COVID-19 High-Risk Contact – HKPR District Health Unit Video
How You Will Be Notified
All high-risk contacts identified in Haliburton County, Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes will be contacted by public health and provided direction on what to do.
- Note: Isolating and quarantining rules may be revised or shortened if you are fully vaccinated against the virus and test negative for COVID-19. You are considered to be fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since you received your second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Your vaccination status will be verified by public health staff, who can also give you further direction on what to do.
What This Means for You
- You may need to quarantine for 10 days. However, if you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (or were previously positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days) and have no symptoms, you do not need to quarantine. Instead, you must instead self-monitor for 10 days from the time you last had close contact with a positive COVID-19 case.
- If public health directs you to quarantine, you must do so. Quarantine is a legal requirement to stop the spread the COVID-19 under a Section 22 Order issued under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. Click here for more specifics:
- Do not go to work or school.
- Do not leave your home (you will need to arrange to have someone get you groceries, medication, and other essentials)
- Separate yourself from others in your home. Stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom if possible.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water
- Cough/sneeze into your sleeve or tissue
- Wear a mask that covers your nose, mouth, and chin. Other people should also wear a mask when they are in the same room as you.
- No visitors allowed.
- Do not leave your property unless it is to go for COVID-19 testing or to seek medical attention.
- You are recommended to go for testing at your nearest COVID-19 Testing and Assessment Centre.
Monitor Yourself for Symptoms
- During your quarantine, monitor yourself every day for COVID-19 symptoms.
- If you start to feel very sick (such as severe chest pain or difficulty breathing), call 9-1-1 or seek immediate medical attention.
- For mild symptoms, use the online COVID-19 Screening Tool to see what to do next.
What This Means for People You Live With
If you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and:
- Do not have COVID-19 symptoms, members of your household do not need to self-isolate.
- Have COVID-19 symptoms, unvaccinated or previously COVID-positive members of your household need to self-isolate while awaiting test results. Fully vaccinated or previously asymptomatic members of your household do not need to self-isolate while awaiting test results.
Questions? Need to report symptoms in yourself or household members? Call the Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 1540.