COVID-19

Guidance for the Health Sector

Last reviewed	November 25, 2020
Last updated	November 25, 2020

Case Definition
How to help
Travelers from outside of Canada
Guidance Documents
For Controlled Drugs and Substances (CDS) prescribers
Signage
Related Information

Case Definition

The case definition for COVID-19 has been updated and is current as of November 20, 2020. This information may change frequently, please check back often for updates.

Case Definition

For clinical testing purposes: health professionals who are involved in the assessment and management of possible COVID-19 cases are encouraged to consult Tables 1 and 2 in the daily WHO Situation Report to help inform their decision making.

How to help

We are looking for people with experience in health care who can help us to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

Visit our Health Workforce Matching Portal if you're a:

health care provider working part-time and want to increase your work hours, a former health care provider who is retired or on inactive status, or a health care provider in training and you'd like to be matched to positions and opportunities where services are needed most
health care facility and would like to request help from available resources

Travelers from outside of Canada:

Anyone who has travelled outside of Canada is required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival back in Canada. For more information please visit the Government of Canada's website for travel advice and the Ministry of Health website dedicated to coronavirus.

Guidance Documents

Guidance documents on COVID-19 have been produced for a number of health and other sectors.

Note: To the extent that any guidance document conflicts with a Directive issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Health under s. 77.7 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Directive prevails.

Health Sector Resources

Document title	Date
Gatherings, Ethno-Cultural, Festive Occasions, and Other Events	November 25, 2020
COVID-19 Operational Requirements: Health Sector Restart	June 15, 2020
Information on the Use of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Beyond the Manufacturer-designated Shelf Life	March 27, 2020
Infection Prevention and Control Hubs	November 10, 2020
Guidance for Acute Care	June 15, 2020
Guidance for Community Labs and Specimen Collection Centres	March 29, 2020
Guidance for Community Pharmacies	June 19, 2020
Guidance for Consumption and Treatment Services	April 16, 2020
Guidance for Home and Community Care Providers	September 17, 2020
Guidance for Hospice Care	November 12, 2020
Guidance for Independent Health Facilities	June 19, 2020
Guidance for Labour, Delivery and Newborn Care	November 10, 2020
Guidance for Mental Health and Addictions Service Providers in Community Settings	September 24, 2020
Guidance for Paramedic Services	October 1, 2020
Guidance for Primary Care Providers in a Community Setting	November 9, 2020
Guidance for Immunization Services During COVID-19	August 25, 2020

Long-Term Care Home / Retirement Homes Resources

Document title	Date
Guidance for Long-Term Care Homes	April 15, 2020
Screening Tool for Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes	May 6, 2020
Outbreak Guidance for Long-Term Care Homes (LTCH)	April 15, 2020
Guidance for mask use in long- term care homes and retirement homes	April 15, 2020
Retirement Home COVID-19 Visiting Policy	October 9, 2020
COVID-19 Test Requisition	June 12, 2020
COVID-19 Surveillance Testing – Guidance Regarding Retirement Homes Staff and Resident Testing	June 12, 2020
COVID-19: Visiting Long-Term Care Homes	October 5, 2020

Symptoms, Screening, and Testing Resources

Document title	Date
COVID-19 Provincial Testing Guidance	November 20, 2020
Quick Reference Public Health Guidance on Testing and Clearance	November 20, 2020
Considerations for Privately-Initiated Testing	November 20, 2020
Considerations for Employer Rapid Antigen Screening Pilot	November 20, 2020
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Testing - PHO	April 18, 2020
COVID-19 Reference Document for Symptoms	September 21, 2020
COVID-19 Patient Screening Guidance Document	June 11, 2020
COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces (Businesses and Organizations)	September 25, 2020
Guidance on Testing of Asymptomatic Persons in Pharmacies	November 9, 2020

Case and Contact Management Resources

Document title	Date
Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19 in Ontario	October 9, 2020
Appendix 1: Ontario's Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) Case Report Form	June 23, 2020
Appendix 2: Route Activities Prompt Worksheet – Case	June 23, 2020
Appendix 3: Daily Clinical Update Form – Acute Care Setting	June 23, 2020
Appendix 4: Daily Clinical Update Form – Household Setting	June 23, 2020
Appendix 5: Close Contact Tracing Worksheet	June 23, 2020
Appendix 6: Close Contact Daily Clinical Update Form	June 23, 2020
Appendix 7: Self-Isolation for COVID-19 Cases or Other Individuals in the Household	June 23, 2020
Appendix 8: Cases with Positive COVID-19 Serology Results and Management of Cases with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Temporally Associated with COVID-19	August 6, 2020
Appendix 9: Management of Individuals with Point-of-Care Results	November 20, 2020

Mental Health Resources

Document title	Date
Talking to Children About the Pandemic	March 28, 2020
Resources for Ontarians Experiencing Mental Health and Addictions Issues During the Pandemic	April 3, 2020

Guidance for Other Sectors

Document title	Date
COVID-19 Guidance: School Outbreak Management	October 1, 2020
Guidance on Community Emergency Evacuations	April 20, 2020
COVID-19 Guidance: Congregate Living for Vulnerable Populations	May 28, 2020
COVID-19 Guidance Documents for Provincial Correctional Institutions	July 2020
Guidance for Funeral and Bereavement Services	March 29, 2020
COVID-19 Advice: Religious Services, Rites or Ceremonies	August 21, 2020
Guidance for Temporary Foreign Workers	March 31, 2020
COVID-19 Guidance: Summer Day Camps	August 13, 2020
Resuming Visits in Congregate Living Settings	July 22, 2020
COVID-19 Guidance: Workplace Outbreaks	June 11, 2020
COVID-19 Guidance: On-Farm Outbreak Management	September 21, 2020

For Controlled Drugs and Substances (CDS) prescribers

Health Canada is moving forward with regulatory exemptions to improve pharmacological and therapeutic options for allowing patients to access controlled medications during the COVID-19.

Health Canada Exemption and Interpretive Guide for Controlled Substances.

Signage

The following signage has been created for health care settings.

Patients	Visitors
English	English
French	French

Related Information

Ontario.ca/COVID-19
Contacting your Public Health Unit
What we know so far - PHO
Government of Canada COVID-19 Outbreak update
Telehealth Ontario: 1-866-797-0000

Ministry Status: Activation Status