The Ontario government has announced a new online portal where people can check their COVID-19 test results.
“With this new portal, patients will be able to access their test results faster from the safety of their home,” Christine Elliott, deputy premier and minister of health, said in a press release issued Friday.
“It will help reduce the burden on our public health units and frontline health workers, allowing them to focus their efforts where they are needed most during this challenging time.”
In order to access results, patients must have a photo of their health card. The portal will provide results, as well as next steps.
The portal can be found here.
The province also issued a new emergency order to give public health units more flexibility through hiring retired nurses, medical students and volunteers.
The order comes after Ontario’s top medical official recommended more aggressive contact tracing to track community spread of the coronavirus.
“We are at a critical juncture in our fight against COVID-19,” Elliott said. “Our success as a province depends on our ability to quickly and effectively stop the spread of this new virus.
“These actions offer considerable support to our local health units and give them the authority they need to act and contain COVID-19 in our communities.”
Ontario public health officials are set to release data today showing how many people could die of COVID-19 under various scenarios.
Premier Doug Ford says the projections might be hard to hear and should serve as a wake-up call for some people.
But he says the public has the right to the same information as he has when making health-related decisions.
—With files from The Canadian Press