Quebec Updates Testing Guidelines: Here’s What To Do If You May Have COVID-19

Article content

With COVID-19 transmission out of control in Quebec, the province decided to go ahead with a strategy it had been planning to introduce once the pandemic subsided: self-management.

Article content

The strategy, mentioned by public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda in a press conference on Wednesday, aims to shift some of the responsibility for testing and contact tracing to Quebecers, rather than to public health.

“This transition was already planned,” Arruda said. “We knew we would get here; the problem is that with Omicron we get here faster. “

A shorter incubation period linked to the Omicron variant, as well as its transmissibility, have stripped Quebec of its ability to identify cases before they infect several others, said Marie-France Raynault, senior strategic medical adviser at the Ministry of Health, at a technical briefing for the transition on Thursday.

“The contact tracing that we were doing before is less effective,” he said. “We have to help people make decisions to isolate themselves from other people so that there is no further transmission when they are infected.”

Article content

Here’s how to manage your own potential COVID-19 case

Quebecers who have come into contact with confirmed cases are asked to isolate, monitor their symptoms, and use quick tests before heading to testing centers, which have been unable to keep up with demand as the Omicron variant spreads. (These new guidelines do not apply to healthcare workers, who follow their own set of guidelines.)

The contacts have been divided into three levels of risk: high, moderate and low.

High risk

Examples of high-risk contacts are positive cases in people living in your home, sexual partners, or a person with whom you came in contact at a party or in a confined area such as a car or cubicle without wearing a mask.

If your contact is considered high risk, immediately isolate for 10 days from the day you were last exposed and monitor for symptoms. If you have symptoms, take a quick test if you have access to one. If you are unable to do a rapid test, make an appointment at a testing center.

Article content

If you do a rapid test and it is positive, you can schedule an appointment at a test center to confirm the result. Arruda said it doesn’t need to be done, but Raynault said he thinks it’s important to keep track of cases and make sure the result is not a false positive (although he said false positives are unlikely).

If you run a rapid test and it is negative, continue isolating and take another 24 hours later. If it turns negative again and your symptoms start to go away, resume your normal activities. If negative but symptoms persist, use the self-assessment tool at Quebec COVID-19 testing website .

If you are in constant contact with a positive case, such as your child, isolate for 14 days instead of 10 and monitor symptoms.

Article content

Moderate risk

Examples of moderate risk contacts are positive cases with which you have been in contact within two meters for more than 15 minutes without a mask, in situations such as sports games or in restaurants.

If your contacts meet the moderate risk criteria, you do not have to isolate yourself, but for 10 days after exposure you should control symptoms, reduce contacts, avoid seeing vulnerable people, and wear a mask during any social interaction.

If you do have symptoms, follow the testing guidelines listed above in the high-risk category.

Low risk

Examples of low-risk contacts are positive cases with which you have been in contact within two meters for more than 15 minutes, but while wearing a mask, such as in a store.

Article content

If your contacts meet the low-risk criteria, you don’t have to isolate or reduce social contacts, but you should monitor your symptoms for 10 days.

If you do have symptoms, follow the testing guidelines listed above in the high-risk category.

Quebec said it can no longer keep up with contact tracing, so it is asking people who test positive to notify people they were in contact with up to 48 hours before their symptoms appeared.

In Montreal, public health director Dr. Mylène Drouin said Thursday that the city can still trace some contacts, but for specific populations.

“We have not completely abandoned outbreak tracking and management,” he said. “We kept staff to really focus on vulnerable populations, vulnerable places, where we believe we still have a protective role as public health.”

Article content

How do I get rapid tests?

Rapid tests are available in Quebec pharmacies in small quantities while the province awaits shipments from the federal government. Some pharmacies accept reservations, while others operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Most of the pharmacies have explained the implementation plans in automated messages over the phone. Pharmacists ask people not to call them directly.

Can I do a quick test if I don’t have any symptoms?

There is much debate among experts about the accuracy of rapid tests for the asymptomatic. The Quebec government, for its part, does not recommend the use of rapid tests if you do not have symptoms.

[email protected]

twitter.com/katelynthomas

All our news related to the coronavirus can be found at montrealgazette.com/tag/coronavirus .

For information on vaccinations in Quebec, Click here .

Sign up for our email newsletter dedicated to local coverage of COVID-19 at montrealgazette.com/coronavirusnews .

Help support our local journalism by subscribe to the Montreal Gazette .