It is important for all travellers to monitor their health when they return to Canada. Canada and BC have just announced increased screening for people from Iran. Anyone travelling from Iran will be asked to contact their local public health authority within 24 hours of arrival and to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
UCW Student Services will be reaching out to students arriving for the Spring 2020 term from affected countries with more details about how this could affect their term start and precautions to take.
The Office of the Provincial Health Officer and the BC Centre for Disease Control advises:
- Students, faculty, staff or visitors returning from Hubei Province, China stay home or self-isolate in their room alone for 14 days after they leave Hubei. They should monitor themselves daily for symptoms (fever, cough, muscle aches, difficulty breathing).
- Students, faculty, staff or visitors coming from Iran
- Students, faculty, staff or visitors who have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 by laboratory testing should stay home or self-isolate in their room alone for 14 days after their last encounter. Individuals should monitor themselves daily for symptoms (fever, cough, muscle aches, difficulty breathing).
- Students, faculty, staff or visitors who have been in other parts of mainland China (outside Hubei Province) and other parts of the world (Iran, Northern Italy) where cases have been reported should monitor themselves daily for symptoms (fever, cough, muscle aches, difficulty breathing) for 14 days after they leave. They do not need to self-isolate.
Those who develop symptoms during the 14-day monitoring period should immediately self-isolate (stay in a room that is not shared with anyone else) and call their health-care provider or the provincial health line 8-1-1 to discuss the need for testing and follow up.
More information on self-isolation is available on the Government of Canada website at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/2019-novel-coronavirus-information-sheet-travelled-hubei-province-china.html.
