Share memories, not COVID-19 this holiday
If you’re planning to gather with family, friends and co-workers over the holidays, don’t bring an unwelcome guest. Plan ahead and test for COVID-19 before you socialize. In other words “test-to-protect” your friends and loved ones and provide safe gatherings.
“Even if you are vaccinated, you can still unknowingly have, and spread, COVID-19,” said Dr. Johnmark Opondo, a medical health officer with Saskatchewan Health Authority and SHA’s co-chief of the COVID-19 Pandemic Offensive Strategy. “Testing is the only way to be sure you have the virus. Knowing whether you’re infected early will give you the information you need to protect your family and the people you may encounter.”
If you are asymptomatic and have not been exposed to anyone who is positive for COVID-19, do a rapid antigen self-test. You can take the test at home and results are ready within about 20 minutes. Self-test kits are free and available at a number of distribution centres around the province.
“If you’re hosting, ask everyone to do a self-test before they come over and be sure to take one yourself. Rapid tests are sensitive enough to tell you if you’re infectious at that precise moment,” said Renee Simoneau, director of SHA’s Test to Protect Strategy.
“It’s important to remember that you don’t have to feel sick to have COVID-19,” she continued. “With the highly infectious Omicron variant circulating in the population, we need to take advantage of every tool at our disposal to identify COVID and reduce the chances of spreading it.”
Rapid antigen tests are not meant to replace PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which are the gold standard for detecting the virus. Always get a PCR COVID test if you have unexplained new or worsening COVID-19 symptoms (even mild symptoms) or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.
If a rapid test shows you are positive for COVID-19, self-isolate (stay at home and separate from others in your household) and book a follow-up PCR test as soon as possible to confirm your COVID-19 status. PCR tests are administered by a health professional and results can take anywhere from hours to days to receive.
If you have symptoms, even with a negative rapid antigen COVID-19 test, self-isolate until your symptoms subside. If symptoms worsen, get a PCR test, and if necessary, seek medical care.
Call HealthLine 811 to be referred for testing, book a test online, or, alternatively, go to a drive-thru or walk-in site. More information on COVID-19 testing is available on the provincial government’s website.
Testing is an important tool to keep yourself and others safe but your best defense against serious illness and hospitalization continues to be vaccination. The Saskatchewan Health Authority and pharmacies throughout the province provide vaccination clinics. To find a clinic near you please visit COVID-19 vaccinations.
