COVID-19 Prevention

Wear a face covering 

Stay home when you are sick 

Stay 2 metres (6 feet) apart 

Physical distancing means staying 2 metres apart from people outside of your household.

Make changes in your everyday routines to minimize close contact with others:

• Greet with a wave instead of a handshake, hug, or kiss.
• Stay home as much as possible.
• Work from home, if you can.
• Limit grocery shopping to once per week or less, only visit pharmacies or banks when necessary, and place orders on the phone or online when possible.
• Connect with friends and family by phone or online.
• Avoid gatherings with friends and extended family and adhere to gathering limits.

Clean your hands frequently 

Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds or clean with alcohol-based hand sanitizer (containing at least 60-90% alcohol).

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

 Practice good cough and sneeze etiquette

When coughing or sneezing:

• cough or sneeze into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand
• dispose of any tissues you've used as soon as possible in a lined waste basket and wash your hands immediately afterwards

Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces 

• toilets,
• sink tap handles,
• doorknobs and handles,
• railings,
• light switches
• counter tops,
• phones,
• desks and keyboards, etc.

If you want to disinfect surfaces, use an off-the-shelf disinfectant according to the instructions on the label and follow Public Health Ontario’s directions for cleaning and disinfection of public settings.

Stay safe in social gatherings 

It is important to remember that just because you know someone, it does not reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. If you choose to hold or participate in an in-person gathering or event with people outside your household, you should take precautions to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Follow provincial restrictions on gathering limits.
Limit close contacts to your household or the people you live with. Maintain 2 metres of physical distance from everyone else.
Wear a face-covering indoors and outdoors if physical distancing cannot be maintained or if wearing one is required.
Wash your hands often.
Practice proper cough and sneeze etiquette.
If you are sick, stay home to self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 .

Virtual gatherings or events are the safest way to visit or recognize occasions with people outside your household. Gatherings or events outdoors are safer than indoors; however, physical distancing of 2 metres must still be maintained.

Avoid high-risk activities and settings 

• Closed spaces (e.g., visiting friends and family inside their home, eating indoors rather than on a patio)
• Crowded places (e.g., public transit at peak times)
• Close contact (e.g., eating with people outside of your household)
• Close-range conversation where there is singing, shouting, or heavy breathing (e.g., during exercise)
• Prolonged exposure (i.e., close contact with someone outside of your household for greater than 15 minutes)

Ensure proper ventilation in indoor areas 

 Maximize ventilation by ensuring that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are in good working order. Drawing as much fresh air as possible from outside will decrease the concentration of aerosols that may be suspended in the air and could contain the COVID-19 virus.

When possible, keep windows open (e.g., in a house or vehicle).

Download the COVID Alert app 

• Get a notification if you may have been exposed to COVID-19
• Get advice on what to do next
• Tell app users you've been nearby if you test positive for COVID-19, without sharing any personal information

If you receive a notification of exposure you should get tested for COVID-19 and you must self-isolate while you await your test results. For further instructions on what to do if you receive notification of exposure from the COVID Alert app, refer to the “You received a notification of exposure from the COVID Alert app” heading on our self-isolation page .