COVID-19 for Health Care Providers

For provincial epidemiology, the Ministry of Health provides a daily update each day at 10:30 a.m. which includes a summary of cases and epidemiological data in Ontario. 

Up-to-date local epidemiology (Thunder Bay District catchment area) is reported on the Current COVID-19 Data in TBDHU page on a daily basis, excluding holidays.

• September 10, 2020 - Missing Links in the Previous HCP Alert
• September 10, 2020 - Updated Guidance Documents, Back to School and Immunization Info
• September 3, 2020 - Missing Links in Last Health Care Provider Update
• September 3, 2020 - Vaccine and Preventable Disease Update to Immunization Services
• August 10, 2020 - Updates to Call Centre, Testing, and Case Definition

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An updated case definition from the Ministry of Health can be found on the Ministry's COVID-19 webpage. The case definitions are for surveillance purposes and are not intended to replace clinical or public health practitioner judgement. 

People that meet the case definition are required to self-isolate for 14 days and call their nearest assessment centre or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.  A list of Assessment Centres and contact information is available. 

Provincial resources and guidance documents for health sectors are available online. All guidance documents can be found on the Guidance for the Health Sector webpage.

Provincial directives and memorandums for COVID-19 are also available online on the Ministry COVID-19 website. This page is home to these updates as well as other resources for Health Care Providers during COVID-19. Please bookmark and review this page regularly.

Guidance documents, directives and memorandums specific to long-term care can be found on the Ontario Guidance for Health Sector webpage.

Testing Priorities

Anyone with ANY symptom of COVID-19 should be assessed for testing.

Testing is also available for:

• People without symptoms who are concerned that they have been exposed to COVID-19 (this includes people who are contacts of or may have been exposed to a confirmed or suspected case).
• People without symptoms who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 through their employment, including essential workers (e.g. health care workers, grocery store employees, food processing plants). 
• People who want to schedule indoor visits at Long-Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes and other Residential Care Settings.

The Testing & Results page includes details regarding assessment centres in Thunder Bay and District Communities, including numbers to call for assessment and appointments.

Reporting Results

Health care providers who order testing must inform their patients of test results. Please direct patients to use Ontario's COVID-19 Test Results Viewer rather than calling the TBDHU.

Please note: Individuals who have tested POSITIVE for COVID-19 will be contacted by the TBDHU; however, individuals who have tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19 will not be contacted.

All Health Care Workers must:

• Be self-monitoring, regardless of travel.
• Not attend work if they are sick.
• Immediately don a surgical mask and notify their manager and/or occupational health and safety department if they begin to feel unwell while at work. 

Return to Work

Health care workers should check with their employer / occupational health about isolation periods following a negative test as each workplace may have different return-to-work policies. See MOH COVID-19 Quick Reference Public Health Guidance on Testing and Clearance (last version 9.0, July 29, 2020).

Returning from Travel

Health care workers who have travelled outside of Canada within the last 14 days should self-isolate for a period of 14 days starting from their arrival in Ontario.

Exemptions: If there are particular workers who are deemed critical, by all parties, to continue operations, these workers must undergo regular screening, use appropriate PPE for the 14 days and undertake self-monitoring, including taking their temperature twice daily to monitor for fever.

If symptoms develop, health care workers must immediately self-isolate and self-identify to their occupational health and safety department.

Pregnant Health Care Workers

There is no evidence that pregnant women are more susceptible to the consequences of COVID-19, nor is there evidence of increased risk to their baby. Pregnant Health Care Workers can continue to work. In situations where a pregnant worker may be exposed to a person who is suspect or confirmed to have COVID-19, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used. No additional PPE measures are required. Where staffing allows, unnecessary exposure to patients with suspected or known COVID-19 should be avoided if possible. For more information, visit the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada Infectious Disease Committee Statement on Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Health Care Workers Matching Portal

Skilled frontline health care workers are being actively recruited to increase the frontline capacity of hospitals, clinics, and assessment centres. The Government of Ontario has launched an online portal to match employers with such workers as retired or non-active health care professionals, internationally educated health care professionals, students and volunteers with health care experience. For more information, visit the Workforce Matching Portal.

Public Health Ontario has released an updated technical brief related to personal protective equipment during COVID-19. It continues to be reinforced that the route of transmission is droplet and contact based, and that there is no evidence to suggest any airborne transmission. Airborne precautions are still only recommended during aerosol generating procedures. All other PPE recommendations are highlighted on pages 5 to 8 of the brief.

Please use these guidelines for use of PPE or follow your organization’s direction.