Quarantine rules ramped up as COVID-19 cases climb in London area
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As the number of COVID-19 cases snowballs in the London area, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has put in place new quarantine rules for households where a member has COVID-19 symptoms.
The London area moved Monday into the orange-restrict level of Ontario’s pandemic response framework.
As a result, the health unit changed its guidelines for members of households where a person has symptoms of COVID-19 such as a sore throat, runny nose, headaches and nausea.
“The big change is that somebody in a household who has symptoms that might be COVID, we are asking everyone (in the household) to quarantine until their results come back negative,” said Chris Mackie, Middlesex-London medical officer of health.
That means other members of the household should not go to work, school or child care, the health unit said.
The new guidelines come as “rates of COVID-19 rise dramatically,” Mackie said.
A total of 331 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Middlesex County and London in December. Five of the region’s highest daily case totals of the pandemic have occurred in the last 11 days, including 52 new cases Thursday.
“We are at twice the peak of the first wave — twice the cases on the biggest day out of Wave 1 back in April,” Mackie said. “This is a concerning milestone and means once again we are entering into a new level of risk in our community.”
When the London area was in the yellow-protect level, other members of the household were not expected to quarantine if one member had symptoms of the virus, Mackie said.
“This intervention has proven to be effective in other jurisdictions when you’ve got someone in your household with symptoms of COVID. So please get them tested right away and everyone stay isolated until they have that test result back.”
If the person with symptoms doesn’t get a test, all members of the household must remain in quarantine for 14 days, the health unit said.
The new guidelines “shouldn’t really put your family out too much,” Mackie said.
Lineups for COVID-19 testing have shortened considerably recently and appointments can be booked online, he said.
The new guidelines “go together” with a COVID-19 “decision tool” for parents whose child has been sent home from school after failing a daily COVID-19 screening, Mackie said.
Visit www.healthunit.com/news/covid-19-public-health-guidance for more information on the new quarantine rules and the decision tool for parents.
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