The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit is urging residents to give the best gift possible during this particular holiday season - stay home and isolate if you feel ill.
“This is the best gift you can give to family, friends and neighbours,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking declared in a Christmas Eve press release.
“If everyone who has symptoms stayed home this holiday season, they would help stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that others did not get ill as well.”
With the highly contagious Omicron variant now the dominant strain in the province, she added that even those experiencing mild symptoms should assume they have COVID-19 and stay home – especially just now, with Rapid Antigen Tests difficult to find and appointments for PCR tests hard to come by.
If someone does receive a positive result on a rapid test, she added, they should take it as confirmation that they have COVID and follow the protocols for a confirmed case.
“With the high number of cases we are seeing locally, we know this virus is circulating and that, if someone has symptoms, they probably have COVID,” Dr. Bocking stated.
“Don't take a chance and spread it to others while you try and get a PCR test appointment. It may be difficult to stay home and isolate at this time of year, but protecting others is the best gift you can give this holiday season.”
If you are ill, her advise is to:
Isolate at home, and do not leave unless it is for medical care.
Monitor yourself for COVID-19 symptoms and, if they worsen, seek immediate medical attention or call 911.
Notify anyone you had contact with in the two days prior to your symptoms starting (or prior to receiving a positive test result). The health unit has a letter on its website that can be provided to high-risk contacts at www.hkpr.on.ca
Stay in a separate room if you are isolating at home. Use a separate bathroom, if you have one, and wash your hands often with soap and water. Wear a mask over your nose, mouth and chin if you can't stay two meters apart from others in your home, and do not allow visitors into the home.
“Not everyone who gets COVID will become really ill,” Dr. Bocking said - “but some will, and our goal is to try and keep people out of the hospital.
“This is a horrible time of year for us to ask people to do this, and we know people have been looking forward to getting together with family and friends. COVID does not take a holiday, though, and unfortunately we need to work together one more time to stop the spread.”
For more details on what to do if you are ill with COVID symptoms, if you have tested positive, or if you have been identified as a high-risk contact of someone who is ill, visit the health unit website.
