Screening
Screening activities should be focused on patients, residents, clients, volunteers, visitors and staff, and should be done over the phone, upon arrival/ at entrances and on a regular basis throughout the day. The goal of screening should be to ensure that no person with clinical symptoms consistent with COVID-19 enters the building/facility.
Screening can be done actively or passively:
- Active screening involves having a designated staff person ask the screening questions before allowing someone to enter a building. This can be done with or without a thermometer.
- Passive screening involves placing a sign at all entrances and asking people who enter the building to screen themselves by reading the signage and answering the questions before entering the building.
It is up to individual facilities to decide if they do active or passive screening; however, active screening is recommended for facilities working with more at risk populations (e.g. seniors/retirement homes, daycares, health care settings, communal living spaces), and passive screening for facilities working with the general public.
Screening Questions
Screening can include the following questions:
- Are you feeling unwell or do you have any new or unexplained symptoms (respiratory or other)?
- A full list of symptoms of COVID-19 can be found on the Self-Monitoring page.
- Have you travelled outside of Northwestern Ontario within the past 14 days?
- Have you been in close contact with someone who is waiting on a COVID-19 test result?
- Have you been in close contact with someone who is confirmed to currently have COVID-19?
Anyone who answers “YES” to any of these questions should be advised to self-isolate immediately and call TBDHU at (807) 625-5900 or Toll-Free at 1 (888) 294-6630 for further instructions.
An UPDATED Screening Poster (English PDF) and Screening Poster - Français (French PDF) is available for use across the area TBDHU serves (current as of May 22, 2020). Please note that this is a general screening poster and it may need to be modified based on the specific needs of the facility/population using the facility.
Additional Resources