As new cases of COVID-19 are on the rise across the province (and the Premier François Legault announced that he had contracted the virus), we have prepared a short guide for you on what to do (or not to do) after receiving a positive result for a screening test.
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What should I do if I have symptoms?
As soon as you feel symptoms of COVID-19, you should do a quick test at home.
Here is a quick reminder of the symptoms of COVID-19:
- Fever
- Sudden loss of smell without nasal congestion, with or without loss of taste
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Runny nose or nasal congestion
- Headache
- great tiredness
- Generalized muscle pain
- Significant loss of appetite
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sore throat
- Diarrhea
You can easily get a box of five tests in most pharmacies in Quebec. You can even book it on the portal Click Health.
All Quebecers are entitled to one free box every 30 days. It is better to have some at home before you feel symptoms.
What should I do if I get a positive result?
If you have a positive result, you should isolate for a minimum of five days after the onset of symptoms. If you are asymptomatic, isolation begins when you receive a positive result.
After five days, you can resume your activities if your symptoms improve and you have not had a fever for at least 24 hours (without having taken fever medication). Otherwise, you must continue your isolation at home for another five days.
During the five days following your isolation, you must imperative to wear a mask during any social interaction and keep a distance of 2 meters from others.
If you have not received two doses of vaccine, you should isolate at home for ten days from the date of onset of symptoms. If you are asymptomatic, you must isolate yourself from the date of the sample.
People who are immunocompromised or who have been hospitalized in intensive care for COVID-19 must self-isolate at home for 21 days from the date of onset of symptoms.
If I get a negative result but have symptoms, what should I do?
You may have contracted COVID-19 without a positive rapid test result. These are less sensitive (and therefore less effective) than PCR tests.
Generally, there is “a good correlation between positivity and the ability to transmit the infection”, explains Alain Lamarre, professor-researcher in immunology and virology at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS).
When we get a positive result, it means that we have a good amount of virus in our respiratory tract and that we could easily transmit the infection, continues Mr. Lamarre.
Conversely, if we have a negative result and we have mild symptoms, it means that COVID-19 is not sufficiently impregnated in our body. Thus, “the chances of transmitting [la maladie aux autres] are much smaller.
“If we are negative, in general, we are not infectious so we can go about our business”, concludes the specialist in immunology.
What to do if your child under 12 tests positive?
Like an adult, a child under 12 who tests positive should self-isolate for a minimum period of five days from the onset of symptoms or the time the test was performed.
After five days, the child should take a rapid test again. If he tests negative, his symptoms improve, and he hasn’t had a fever for at least 24 hours, he can start going out again.
If the test result is positive, he must remain in isolation for another five days.
Once out of solitary confinement, the child must, for the next five days, wear the mask during any social interaction, except for children in preschool and daycare services. It should also, as far as possible, respect social distancing.
If I live with other people and get a positive result, what do I do?
As soon as you have symptoms, you should keep a distance of 2 meters with those you live with. Wear a face covering if you must approach within 2 meters of another person.
As much as possible, isolate yourself in a room of the houseeven to eat and sleep.
If you can, use a bathroom reserved for you. If not, disinfect the bathroom joint after each use.
Ventilate the house and your bedroom often by opening a window, weather permitting.
Even if these tips can help reduce the risks, it does not completely eliminate the danger, warns Alain Lamarre. “Contagiousness is high with Omicron, so if you live in the same house, in the same apartment, the chances of transmitting to another person are quite high,” he insists.
Reference-www.24heures.ca