Last Updated: December 31, 2020 at 11:05 a.m.
If you are caring for or living with someone who has COVID-19, you are considered a close contact. Be sure to tell any health care providers that you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
Wash Your Hands Often
- Wash your hands with soap and water after each contact with the infected person
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
Wear a Mask and Gloves
Wear a mask and gloves when you have contact with the person’s saliva or other body fluids (e.g. blood, sweat, saliva, vomit, urine and feces)
Dispose of Gloves & Mask After Use
- Take the gloves and mask off right after you provide care and dispose of them in the wastebasket lined with the plastic bag
- Take off the gloves first and clean your hands with soap and water before taking off your mask
- Clean your hands again with soap and water before touching your face or doing anything else
Only Essential Visitors
- Only have visitors who you must see and keep the visits short (e.g. support or home care professionals)
- Keep seniors and people with chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, lung problems, and immune deficiency) away from the infected person
Avoid Sharing Household Items
- Do not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding or other items with the person under investigation
- After use, these items should be washed with soap or detergent in warm water. No special soap is needed
- Dishwashers and washing machines can be used
- Do not share cigarettes
Clean
- Clean your home with regular household cleaners
- Clean regularly touched items such as toilets, sink tap handles, doorknobs and bedside tables on a daily basis
Wash Laundry Thoroughly
- There is no need to separate laundry, but you should wear gloves when handling
- Clean your hands with soap and water immediately after removing your gloves
Be Careful When Touching Waste
- All waste can go into regular garbage bins
- When emptying wastebaskets, take care to not touch used tissues with your hands
- Lining the wastebasket with a plastic bag makes waste disposal easier and safer
- Clean your hands with soap and water after emptying a wastebasket
Public Health Ontario Guide
Read the Public Health Ontario guide (also available in Amharic | Arabic | Bengali | Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Dari | Eastern Ojibwe | Farsi | French | German | Greek | Gujarati | Hindi | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Mohawk | Oji-Cree | Pashto | Polish | Portuguese | Punjabi | Romanian | Russian | Somali | Spanish | Swampy Cree | Tagalog | Tamil | Ukrainian | Urdu | Vietnamese).
For information in French about COVID-19, please visit the Government of Ontario’s website and Public Health Ontario portal.
