If You Have a Positive Test Result
- Regardless of when your self-isolation began, if your test results for COVID-19 are positive, you are legally required to self-isolate for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started and until symptoms have resolved (whichever is longer)
- Self-isolation can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by lowering the chance the virus could spread to others.
- You must stay at home – do not leave your home or attend work, school, social events or any other public gatherings
- You should avoid close contact with other people, including household members but especially seniors and people with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems
- Wash your hands often and thoroughly, cover your cough and sneezes, avoid sharing household items and clean and disinfect frequently touched and shared surfaces.
- You will be contacted by Public Health for information and instructions
- Health care workers* have additional requirements and may not work in any health care setting until 14 days have passed since symptom onset and symptoms have resolved (whichever is longer)
- *Includes individuals who provide service in a clinical care setting, including hospitals, clinics, continuing care facilities, licensed supportive living sites, public health centres, community assessment centres, and any other settings where face-to-face patient care (including fire fighters and EMS) is provided.
If You Have a Negative Test Result
- If you are a contact of a known case of COVID-19 OR have returned from travel outside of Canada OR are a close contact of an ill person who has returned from travel outside of Canada within the last 14 days
- Even if your results are negative, you must stay on self-isolation for a full 14 days and monitor for new symptoms. Common symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, sore throat or runny nose.
- Continue to follow good respiratory etiquette, good hand hygiene.
- If you have new symptoms in that time you can take the COVID-19 self-assessment or call Health Link at 811 for additional advice. Anyone requiring emergency medical attention should call 911.
- If you are NOT a contact of a known case of COVID-19 AND have NOT returned from travel outside of Canada AND are NOT a close contact of an ill person who has returned from travel outside of Canada within the last 14 days
- You are not legally required to isolate. However, it is important to stay home until your symptoms resolve so that you don't infect others.
- AHS, Covenant Health and Alberta Precision Labs employees can refer to COVID-19 Return to Work Guide for AHS Healthcare Workers for further instructions
COVID-19 Autodialer
As of Wednesday, April 15, all Albertans being tested for COVID-19 will have the option to receive their negative COVID-19 test results over the phone through an autodialer system. Individuals being tested for COVID-19 will be provided with the opportunity to consent to the autodialer method of receiving negative COVID-19 test results at the time that they are referred for testing.
- This innovative use of autodialer technology allows healthcare teams to focus their follow-up work on Albertans with positive test results, and also shortens turn-around time on test results, helping Albertans learn of their results sooner.
- All individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by a member of the AHS Public Health team for follow-up and case management.
- If you have consented to receive your results via the autodialer, and your results are available on or after April 13, you may receive results via an automated phone call.
- All incomplete calls are logged immediately. The autodialer will keep calling until they speak to someone. If you do not have voice messaging, AHS will call you back directly within 24 hours to ensure you receive your test results.
This expansion of autodialer use to all Zones of AHS follows the success in Calgary Zone, where the autodialer option was implemented on April 2.
- From April 2- April 12, 6,685 Calgary Zone residents consented to receive negative test results via autodialer.
- 95 per cent of those were successfully reached by the autodialer. All unsuccessful calls are redialled by the auto-dialer later in the day, or followed up directly by Health Link, ensuring everyone receives their results.
All Albertans who receive negative results are advised to visit ahs.ca/results for additional important direction on steps they still need to take to continue to keep themselves and their families healthy.
Testing is now available to any symptomatic Albertan. If you are experiencing symptoms of cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose or sore throat, please visit www.ahs.ca/covid to complete the online assessment for testing referral.
