Province enhances online COVID-19 self-assessment tool

Published March 23, 2020 at 3:25 pm

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TORONTO — Ontario has enhanced its COVID-19 self-assessment tool, making it interactive and allowing the province to gather data from it.

The new tool takes users through a series of questions about their symptoms and will help people determine if they are likely to have COVID-19 and what to do.

These next steps could include: continue to practice social distancing; self-isolate; call a primary care provider or Telehealth Ontario; or in the case of symptoms such as severe difficulty breathing or severe chest pain, call 911 or go to the emergency department.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says in a statement that the tool will give the province real-time data on the number of people who are told to seek care, self-isolate or monitor for symptoms, as well as where in the province they live.

People calling Telehealth Ontario have reported long waits, but Elliott says the service now has more than 2,000 lines running, up from about 400 before the pandemic.

The government also says Ontario has 58 dedicated COVID-19 assessment centres running, well up from the 38 Premier Doug Ford said were open just a few days ago.

Elliott is reminding people to practise social distancing, meaning staying at least two metres away from anyone outside your immediate family, and for anyone who has travelled to stay at home and self-isolate.

“I encourage anyone who may have been exposed to COVID-19, have symptoms or may have travelled outside of Canada to first self-isolate and then take a few seconds to complete our new online assessment tool,” Elliott said in the statement.

“This easy-to-use tool, developed with guidance from Dr. Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, is a great first step in that process. By answering a few questions, Ontarians will be able to make informed choices about what to do, while the province collects real-time data to enhance our ongoing response.”

Ontario’s self-assessment tool can be accessed here.

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