COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Weakness/numbness on one side
• Slurred speech
• Fainting/change in mental state
• Serious burns
• Head or eye injury
• Concussion/confusion
• Broken bones and dislocated joints
• Fever with a rash
• Seizures
• Cuts that may require stitches
• Facial lacerations
• Severe cold or flu symptoms
• Vaginal bleeding with pregnancy
• Mental health crisis

You should book a clinical assessment if you know or suspect that you have COVID-19 and you:

• have been directed by your primary care provider or other health care professional; or
• are unable to safely monitor your symptoms at home; or
• are at higher risk of severe illness, including:
  • immunocompromised individuals aged 18 and over regardless of vaccine status.
  • unvaccinated individuals aged 60 and over.
  • unvaccinated First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals aged 50 and over.
  • unvaccinated individuals aged 50 and over with one or more risk factors.

You should bring a list of your medication and a list of any important medical conditions to your appointment for a clinical assessment.

If you have one or more of the following symptoms, you should immediately call 911 or go to the emergency department:

• Severe difficulty breathing (struggling for each breath, can only speak in single words)
• Severe chest pain (constant tightness or crushing sensation)
• Feeling confused or unsure of where you are
• Losing consciousness

Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday/Sunday/Stats: 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

If you are known or suspected to have COVID-19, have worsening symptoms or have been advised by a healthcare professional to seek assessment, you can:

• Online booking at www.brockvillegeneralhospital.ca/BookAssessment
• Call 613-704-1441
• Walk in
• If you attend BGH’s Emergency Department with non-urgent care needs, you may be redirected to the Brockville COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Centre

Patients are assessed by an appropriate health professional (e.g., physician, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, registered practical nurse). The assessment may include oxygen saturation, vital signs, and identifying relevant risk factors/comorbidities. Patients may be tested, if appropriate, and following the provincial testing guidance. Patients are diagnosed by a physician or nurse practitioner.

The Ministry of Health has updated PCR testing eligibility to the following groups:

• Symptomatic people who fall into one of the following groups:
  • Hospitalized patients
  • Patients in Emergency Departments, at the discretion of the treating clinician
  • Patient-facing health care workers
  • Staff, residents, essential care providers, and visitors in hospitals and congregate living settings, including long-term care, retirement homes, First Nation elder care lodges, group homes, shelters, hospices, temporary foreign worker settings, and correctional institutions
  • Outpatients for whom COVID-19 treatment is being considered
  • Under-housed or homeless
• People who are from First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities and individuals travelling into these communities for work
• Symptomatic elementary and secondary students and education staff who have received a PCR self-collection kit through their school
• People on admission/transfer to or from hospital or congregate living setting
• High-risk contacts and asymptomatic/symptomatic people in the context of confirmed or suspected outbreaks in high-risk settings, including hospitals, long-term care, retirement homes, other congregate living settings and institutions, and other settings as directed by the local public health unit
• Individuals, and one accompanying caregiver, with written prior approval for out-of-country medical services from the General Manager, OHIP
• Asymptomatic testing in hospital, long-term care, retirement homes and other congregate living settings and Institutions as per provincial guidance and/or Directives

• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Painful urination
• Rashes without fever
• Ear pain
• Eye redness, discharge, itchiness
• Sprains and strains
• Severe/chronic abdominal pain
• Severe/chronic back pain
• Fussy baby
• Other chronic conditions

• Medication procurement/advice
• COVID-19 testing
  • In-store lab-based testing, by appointment only
  • Self-collection lab-based kits, no appointment necessary.

• COVID-19 vaccinations 
• Influenza vaccinations

Myself or my loved one is entering a long-term care or retirement home and require a test. How do I schedule a test?

• If you or your loved one are entering a long-term care home, your placement coordinator will make arrangements for you to be tested at home by a paramedic, OR
• If you or your loved one are entering a retirement home, please contact Public Health at 1-800-660-5853 ext. 2222. They will make these arrangements for you to be tested in your home by a paramedic.

Myself or my loved one is frail or has mobility issues.  It is difficult for me to attend the Assessment Centre for a COVID Test.  What should I do?

I've been told I need to self-isolate? What does that mean?

What can I do to help to protect my loved ones from COVID-19 or other infectious diseases?

To reduce the spread of germs including Influenza (flu), stomach bug (Norovirus) and the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health recommends that you:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth unless you have just washed your hands with soap
• Cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue or into your arm, not your hand
• If possible, stay home if you are sick
• Avoid visiting people in hospitals or long-term care centres if you are sick
• Learn how you can help to stop the spread of germs and viruses
• Get your flu shot