FAQs & Other Information on COVID-19 and the Workplace

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate, a State of Emergency and Provincewide Stay-at-Home Order are in effect as of Thursday, April 8 at 12:01 a.m. This puts in place shutdown measures to help to stop the rapid transmission of COVID-19 variants in communities, protect hospital capacity and save lives. The COVID-19 Response Framework (colour-coded zones) is paused at this time. Visit the Current Level page for more details.

• At this time, employers shall ensure that any person who performs work for the business or organization conducts their work remotely, unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site at the workplace.
• Develop a COVID-19 Workplace Safety plan that outlines the specific controls that will be put into place to make the workplace safer for everyone. Consider using the COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan information and template.
• Adhere to the public health and safety protocols that have been developed for various workplace settings by the Ministry of Health and industry partners. Guidelines and posters are available at: Resources to Prevent COVID-19 in the Workplace.
• Follow the requirements for mandatory masks. The Ontario Government currently mandates the use of masks/face coverings in the indoor premises of all businesses and organizations (including a business vehicle), with some exceptions. TBDHU’s Instruction Letter to Employers, Business Owners and Operators for mandatory masks/face coverings also remains in effect. Where there are differences between the regulation and TBDHU’s instruction letter, whichever is the stricter expectation will be required. For details, visit the Mandatory Masks Directive for Businesses and Organizations page.
• Ensure all infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures are in place. Detailed information for workplaces on screening, hand washing, cough etiquette, environmental cleaning, physical distancing and masks is available on the Prevention at Work page.
• Review infection prevention and control/occupational health and safety policies and procedures specific to your workplace/sector with all employees. Place reminders for workers throughout the workplace in appropriate places, such as screening posters at entrances, hand washing posters at sinks, etc. Printable Posters and Tools are available. Businesses are encouraged to check the signage at entrances often to make sure they are using the most current version.
• Instruct workers to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and remind them of the importance of not being at work if they are ill.
• Where the risk of COVID-19 cannot be sufficiently reduced by other methods and personal protective equipment (PPE) is required, provide adequate training on the care, use and limitations of PPE, including how to put on and take off, and when to perform hand hygiene.
  • Visit the Workplace PPE Supplier Directory for information on Ontario companies and business associations that are ready to supply personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Update corporate policies and inform employees about any changes, particularly those regarding sick leave and leave to care for family members.
• Provide adequate training for people who may have to cover the job duties of others.

• Keep workers informed of what is being done in the workplace to ensure health and safety. 
• Encourage workers to maintain a positive workplace culture and to treat each other with respect. 
• Address any fears or concerns.  Acknowledge how COVID-19 may have had an impact on the team, productivity, and morale.
• Visit our Mental Health at Work page for more tips on protecting workers’ psychological health.

• Follow all infection prevention and control measures:
  • Wash your hands frequently (or use hand sanitizer), especially after using the washroom, before eating, and after touching common surfaces such as doorknobs, railings, phones, etc. 
  • Do not touch your eyes, mouth or nose with unclean hands. 
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your upper sleeve or elbow, when you cough or sneeze. Throw used tissues immediately in a lined wastebasket, then wash your hands.
  • Keep a physical distance of at least 2 metres apart from others.
  • Wear a mask or face covering when required indoors, in business vehicles and public transportation. For more information, visit our Mandatory Masks page.
  • Regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that you are responsible for.
• Ask your employer to review with you about what is being done in the workplace to protect the health of staff, clients and customers and follow all safe work procedures.
• Continue to follow all safe work procedures. If you have concerns about health and safety in your workplace, you should follow the same process as what you would have done before, such as talking to your supervisor, a health and safety committee representative, and/or union, or (as a final option) the Ministry of Labour.
• Participate in any training and education your workplace offers and help train others to do aspects of your job if requested.
• If going back to work is causing you anxiety, please reach out to the mental health resources that are available to you either in your community, over the phone or online. A list of services is available at on our Mental Health Support page.

It’s also important to do your part as an employee to protect others at work:

• Stay home (or go home) if you are feeling ill. Be familiar with the symptoms of COVID-19. If you are experiencing even one of these, no matter how mild, call the Assessment Centre nearest you or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. 
• Inform yourself of workplace policies and procedures regarding leave time so you know what options are available to you if you are not well or you are caring for family members.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your upper sleeve or elbow, when you cough or sneeze.  Throw used tissues immediately in a lined wastebasket, then wash your hands.
• Wear a mask/face covering and eye protection when required indoors, in business vehicles and public transportation. For more information, visit our Mandatory Masks page.
• Practice physical distancing even when wearing a mask.

• Employees who develop symptoms at work must inform their supervisor and go home. If they cannot leave immediately, the worker must be isolated in a specific space until they are able to leave. If the worker is very ill, call 911 and let the operator know that the person has symptoms of COVID-19.
• Employees who develop symptoms at home must notify their supervisor and stay home. 
• Employers must instruct anyone with symptoms, no matter how mild, to self-isolate immediately and call the Assessment Centre nearest them or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. Employers are not required to advise the health unit when an employee is ill with symptoms related to COVID-19.
• For people with symptoms who do not get tested, they must self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms. Refer to the Self-Isolation page for guidance when self-isolating, including when it is safe to come out of self-isolation and what household contacts should do. 
• Ensure employees are aware of return-to-work procedures. The criteria for return-to-work for COVID-19 is unique depending on the workplace setting.
• Any coworkers who are concerned about having been in close contact with the individual should contact TBDHU or their worksite occupational health and safety office.

• When anyone tests positive for COVID-19, public health performs a risk assessment and contact tracing for all exposures, including those that may occur in a workplace.
• If an employee tests positive, but public health determines that there was no risk of transmission in the workplace, the employer will not be contacted.
• Public health will provide advice regarding any measures or cleaning processes that a workplace may need to take to reduce the risk of transmission. Regular cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces and washing of hands reduces the risk of infection.
• Unless advised by the public health, there is no need to close the workplace or send people home.
• Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days from the onset of symptoms. Once their case has resolved and they have met all the criteria to come out of self-isolation, and feel well enough and able, they can return to work. They should communicate with their employer and follow workplace procedures about return-to-work.
• Once a person has recovered from COVID-19, it’s not uncommon to have a mild lingering cough. The public health case manager for this individual will assess symptoms and determine when they no longer need to self-isolate. Generally, this is 10 days after symptom onset, provided the individual does not have a fever and is improving. 
• It is important to respect employee privacy and not disclose personal health information to co-workers. 

For information related to accommodation, work refusal, working conditions, etc., visit:

• COVID-19 and Ontario’s Human Rights Code – Questions and Answers
• Ministry of Labour – Workplace Exposure and Illnesses
• Steps to Justice

• Employers are discouraged from asking workers to verify their COVID-19 status with a print-out confirming negative test results in order for them to return to work. If the employee was tested, their verbal confirmation that the results were negative should suffice. If an employee self-isolated for 10 days if they did not have an exposure risk* or 14 days if they had an exposure risk*, a COVID-19 test is not required for them to be considered 'cleared' to return to their regular daily activities.

*An exposure includes international travel, travel outside of Northwestern Ontario, contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, or worked or attended a facility that is under an outbreak of COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

If the person self-isolating has symptoms:

At this time, siblings, parents/caregivers and other persons in the household of symptomatic individuals must self-isolate until the symptomatic individual receives a negative COVID-19 test result or an alternative diagnosis by a health care professional. If the symptomatic individual does not get tested, all household contacts must self-isolate for 14 days from their last contact with the symptomatic person. If they are in contact with them every day, the self-isolation period for household members is 14 days from when symptoms started to appear in the unwell person.

If anyone develops symptoms, they must self-isolate and get tested.  

This guidance may change under certain circumstances. TBDHU will provide further instructions as necessary.

If the person self-isolating does not have symptoms:

At this time, if any person in your household is considered a high-risk contact of someone who has COVID-19, any children in the household CAN attend child care or school (including post-secondary) in-person during the risk period. 

Parents/caregivers and other persons in the household of high-risk contacts who do not have symptoms must stay home except for essential reasons, for the duration of the contact's isolation period.

Essential reasons could include going to work and going out for essential errands such as groceries, attending medical appointments or picking up prescriptions. It is important to:

• Stay home as much as possible.
• Limit contact with others.
• Work from home, if possible.
• Consider using online grocery ordering services, food delivery, or having someone drop off groceries and other essential items to your home.
• Do not visit others and do not have visitors in your home.
• Keep a minimum 2 metre distance from anyone outside your household.
• Continue to follow all infection prevention measures. 

This direction does not apply to those who have:

• been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
• had a high-risk exposure to COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
• been advised to self-isolate by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
• returned from travel outside Canada in the last 14 days who are required to self-isolate under the federal Quarantine Act.
• those who are household members of someone who has returned from travel outside of Northwestern Ontario who has/develops symptoms of COVID-19 (even if they have not traveled and do not have symptoms themselves).

If anyone in the household develops symptoms, the whole household must self-isolate and the symptomatic individual should get tested. 

This guidance may change under certain circumstances. TBDHU will provide further instructions as necessary.

Point-of-care testing (POCT), also known as rapid testing, is being used in Ontario in various locations, such as long-term care and retirement homes, some larger workplaces and workplaces with congregate living settings, airports, etc. These tests produce quicker results and are a useful surveillance tool, especially to identify new cases and to help prevent outbreaks.

There are two different types: the antigen POCT assay, where a positive result is considered preliminary with some exceptions; and the molecular POCT assay, where a positive result can be considered final. Both are performed via nasal or nasal-pharyngeal swab.

Anyone receiving a positive result from a point-of-care test is required to self-isolate and follow the directions provided to them by public health. Some individuals will require further testing to confirm the positive result. Most negative POCT results indicate no current COVID-19 infection; however, in some cases further testing is also required.

All positive results, including preliminary and confirmed results, are reported to TBDHU using the Positive COVID-19 Test Reporting Form. All confirmed positive results are reported by TBDHU as confirmed COVID-19 cases, and are included in the daily COVID-19 status updates as appropriate.

Organizations interested in using point-of-care testing can review the COVID-19 Guidance: Considerations for Privately Initiated Testing or contact Ontario Health by emailing covid19testing@ontariohealth.ca.

TBDHU is working through the phases of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. In the guidance for Phase 2 Vaccination Prioritization, the Ministry of Health has outlined that workers in certain essential front-line occupations will be given priority in Phase 2.

TBDHU will follow this guidance for what types of workers will be prioritized and in what sequence.The timeline is dependent on a variety of factors, including the availability of vaccines and the number of individuals who are in each eligible group. 

TBDHU is in the planning stages right now to be able to ensure equitable access to vaccines for all of the priority groups in phase 2. There are many. More information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, employers are asked to designate ONE key contact person for their organization to be in communication regarding vaccination of staff. In the coming days, TBDHU will be requesting this information. 

To stay updated on vaccine developments, employers can follow TBDHU’s social media channels, visit the Vaccine Eligibility page often, and sign up to receive TBDHU COVID-19 and the Workplace e-bulletins. 

While waiting for vaccinations, employers of every sector are strongly encouraged to continue to ensure that all COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures are in place.

• The Ontario Government currently mandates the use of masks/face coverings in the indoor premises of all businesses and organizations (including a business vehicle), with some exceptions. TBDHU’s Instruction Letter to Employers, Business Owners and Operators for mandatory masks/face coverings also remains in effect. Where there are differences between the regulation and TBDHU’s instruction letter, whichever is the stricter expectation will be required. For details, visit the Mandatory Masks Directive for Businesses and Organizations page.
• Maintaining a physical distance of at least 2 metres from others is an important measure for reducing the spread of COVID-19. However, there may be circumstances where employees are unable to keep this safe distance during the course of their duties. 
• Current regulations require employees to wear a mask or face covering when they are working in an indoor area (including a business vehicle), unless they are exempt. Masks are not required for staff working in an area that is not accessible to the public and where a physical distance of 2 metres from every other person can be maintained at ALL times, regardless of the presence of a plexiglass or other barrier.
• If, at any time, a worker is required to come within 2 metres of an unmasked person (ie. a patron, client, or coworker) the employee MUST wear a medical-grade mask and eye protection (PPE). 
• It is also now highly recommended that staff wear PPE at all times when they are within 2 metres of another person, or ensure there is a plexiglass (or other impermeable) barrier in place. This practice should be followed regardless of whether or not the other person is wearing a mask (even one of medical-grade).
• If an employee does not wear PPE and is later deemed to be a close contact of a case of COVID-19, the ‘close contact’ exposure would be considered HIGH-RISK. Anyone with a HIGH-RISK exposure to COVID-19 is required to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms and even if they get tested and the result is negative.
  • *(Note that PPE requirements in healthcare organizations may differ and workers should follow the PPE directions of their employer) 
• If work involves direct contact with individuals who have respiratory symptoms (e.g. coughing and sneezing), a confirmed COVID-19 infection or direct contact with contaminated objects or environments, appropriate PPE must be used.
  • This may include gloves, a gown, a surgical/procedure mask, and/or a face shield. Note that for protection against COVID-19, N95 respirators are only required for aerosol generating medical procedures (AGMPs) and when otherwise determined by a regulated health professional.
• Workers must be trained on the safe use, care and limitations of PPE, including putting on and taking off PPE, as well as proper disposal.
• Workers should ensure that gloves have no pinholes or tears and fit securely around their hands.
• Gloves should be removed before removing a mask. Hand hygiene should be performed immediately after removing gloves, then the mask can be removed, and hand hygiene performed again.
• Visit the Ontario Workplace PPE Supplier Directory for information on Ontario companies and business associations that are ready to supply personal protective equipment (PPE).

Generally, a “medical-grade” mask is the same as a surgical or procedural mask. Medical-grade masks come in three categories, each with different properties. For protection against COVID-19, a LEVEL 1 mask is usually suitable.*

Boxes containing medical-grade disposable masks should indicate on the label whether they are “Level 1” and/or “medical-grade” and/or “for medical purposes”.

To be sure that masks are medical-grade, employers can check the Ontario PPE Supplier Directory and/or Health Canada’s list of authorized medical devices.

Reusable cloth masks/face coverings are not considered medical-grade masks.

*PPE requirements in healthcare organizations may differ and these workers should follow the PPE directions of their employer

• Try to maintain a similar routine as you did before to help you be physically and mentally prepared for your day, such as wake up around the same time each day, have a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc.
• Practice self-care:
  • make sure you get a proper sleep each night (see sleep hygiene tips).
  • eat balanced meals and snacks throughout the day.
  • stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
  • take work breaks and use this time to stretch or go for a brisk walk - remembering to keep a safe physical distance from others (people in self-isolation who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 must stay indoors).
• Have a dedicated workspace, if possible, that minimizes distractions and helps create boundaries between your work and home life. If doable, work in an area with lots of natural sunlight.
• Set regular work hours and build in time for breaks and self-care between different tasks. Resist the temptation to keep working beyond your established work schedule.
• Stay socially connected by checking in regularly with your manager and coworkers. Share successes and challenges using video chat platforms or even a phone call to hear a friendly voice. Try to be positive and supportive of one another.
• Be realistic with yourself about what you can manage in a day. Make a plan or to-do list to help you stay on track and help you feel productive when you accomplish tasks.
• If you have children at home, some helpful strategies could include:
  • Schedule blocks of time for when you are working and when you are engaging with your kids. When it’s kid time, be in the moment and put your laptop and phone away.
  • Talk with your kids about what types of interruptions are okay.
  • Take advantage of the time when kids may be asleep.
  • Take turns looking after the kids if you have a partner.
• Talk to your manager, someone else that you trust and/or a mental health professional if you are feeling exhausted, overly stressed, or experiencing symptoms of a stress disorder (fatigue, fear, withdrawal, etc.). Take advantage of your company’s EFAP services if they are offered. Other mental health resources can be found at SuperiorMentalWellness@Work.com.
• Last, but not least, remember to practice important infection prevention and control! Proper hand washing, cough etiquette, environmental cleaning, physical distancing, and self-monitoring are all critical ways that you can help stop the spread of illness.

A printable PDF version of these Tips for Staying Healthy while Working from Home is also available.

Complaints about businesses that are non-compliant with closure orders can be directed to the TBDHU enforcement line by calling (807) 625-5900 or Toll-Free at 1-888-294-6630. Visit our Phone Line page for information on phone numbers and monitoring hours.

Businesses are reminded that they must keep washrooms open to the public. They should be cleaned frequently and well-stocked with soap and paper towel. Anyone with concerns about access to public washrooms should call TBDHU at (807) 625-5900 or Toll-Free at 1-888-294-6630.