The Ontario government says that hospital workers who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 do not need to stay home from work as long as they continue to test negative for the virus on a daily basis.
The province has made the recommendation in an effort to safeguard hospital staffing levels as COVID-19 cases rise due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says hospital workers who have been in contact with a positive case should undergo a PCR test as soon as possible and repeat the test on day 7.
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They also have to run rapid antigen tests every day for 10 days, and can only go to work if they remain asymptomatic and if all tests are negative.
Alexandra Hilkene says that those with a family member testing positive for the virus should immediately take a PCR test and repeat it on days 7 and 14 or 15.
They should also perform a rapid test every day while the exposure to the COVID-positive household member is ongoing and for 10 days thereafter.
The government says that any hospital worker who develops symptoms of COVID-19 should self-isolate at home until they have a negative PCR test result and their symptoms improve.
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