If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you are eligible for PCR testing if you have at least one COVID-19 symptom and you are:
- a hospitalized patient
- a patient in an emergency department, at the discretion of the treating clinician
- a patient-facing health care worker
- a staff member, volunteer, resident, inpatient, essential care provider, or visitor in a hospital or congregate living setting (including long-term care, retirement homes, First Nation elder care lodges, group homes, shelters, hospices, temporary foreign worker settings and correctional institutions)
- an outpatient being considered for COVID-19covid 19 treatment
- underhoused or homeless
- someone who has been exposed, or a close contact of someone exposed, to a confirmed or suspected outbreak in a high risk setting, including a hospital, long-term care, retirement home, other congregate living setting or institution, or other settings as directed by the local public health unit
- an elementary or secondary student or education staff who has received a PCR self-collection kit, if available through your school
If you do not have symptoms, you are eligible for PCR testing if you:
- are from a First Nation, Inuit, or Métis community or are travelling into these communities for work
- are unvaccinated and being admitted or transferred to or from a hospital or congregate living setting
- are someone who has been exposed, or a close contact of someone exposed, to a confirmed or suspected outbreak in a high risk setting, including a hospital, long-term care, retirement home, other congregate living setting or institution, or other settings as directed by the local public health unit
- have written prior approval for out-of-country medical services from the General Manager of OHIP or are a caregiver for someone who does
- are in a hospital, long-term care, retirement home or other congregate living setting, as directed by public health units, provincial guidance or other directives
