The Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW) advises that effective September 1, 2021, work contacts will not be swabbed at any of the public health facilities unless information determined through contact tracing is sent by the Ministry of Health & Wellness contact tracing personnel.
Employers and supervisors are asked to kindly avoid sending staff to be swabbed at the clinics, but rather to wait for MOHW to conduct a proper contact tracing exercise to determine who are the true close contacts to a positive case.
MOHW recommends that the optimum time for swabbing is three to five days after the last exposure to the positive case. If a household member has tested positive and is isolated at home, all members of that home are considered exposed and must quarantine for 14 days.
Once the 14 days are up, persons will be contacted by a health care personnel and will be advised when and where to return for a clearance letter.
MOHW also recommends that all businesses make arrangements for staff to work on a shift system and allow as many staff to work from home as possible.
The ministry strongly advises strict adherence to all public health measures at the workplace, including using facemasks, avoiding group breakfast or lunch, and avoiding face-to-face meetings and all social gatherings.
These measures will assist in the reduction of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
All public health facilities will continue to see persons with flu-like symptoms as well as persons determined to be close contacts by the MOHW team at health facilities.
