This page provides information on COVID-19 testing for First Nations people in BC. You will find information on what to do and what supports are available if you test positive for COVID-19.
If you have been notified that you have COVID-19, please see Question 5 below. Questions 3 and 4 have information on how to self-isolate and access support services.
FAQs about COVID-19 Testing
1. How do I know whether I need a COVID-19 test?
Use the BCCDC covid-19 self-assessment tool on Thrive Health to determine whether you need to get tested.
2. I got a test. Now what?
The two most important things to do while you wait for results are:
• Monitor your health. If you feel unwell, call your own health care provider, Community Health Nurse (CHN), the provincial nurse line (8-1-1, 24 hours a day, seven days a week) or the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program (call 1.855.344.3800, appointments seven days per week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Self-isolate: some tips and further resources are in Questions 3 and 4 below
To get your results as soon as possible, you might want to sign up for a text message notification. Receiving your test results as soon as possible can help inform health decisions for you and your family. You may have to wait a few days before a contact tracer from Public Health can call you to talk about contact tracing.
See the BCCDC Test Results webpage to find out how to get test results by text, by phone or online.
3. How do I self-isolate?
If you live with others, stay in a separate bedroom and use a separate bathroom, or clean and sanitize it before and after use.
Wear a well-fitting mask and keep two metres between yourself and others in your home when you do have to be in shared spaces.
Do not go to the store or any other location while isolating. Supports may be available for food delivery and other services, if needed (see Question 4).
Make sure you have sufficient soap and water, tissues and hand sanitizer.
If you require help to meet the self-isolation criteria for housing as described above, or to get needed supplies, contact your CHN or FNHA Health Benefits Isolation Support Team: 1-888-305-1505.
4. What supports are available to me if I need to self-isolate?
There are a number of resources available to help you self-isolate safely.
The FNHA Health Benefits Isolation Support team can help you with accommodation, travel and meals if you need to self-isolate. If you think you are eligible, or have any self-isolation transportation questions, please call 1-888-305-1505. For more information see the COVID-19 Guide to Medical Transportation Benefits webpage.
Regional Health Authorities may also be able to provide a safe place to stay while isolating at a “community cohort centre" nearer to the hospital. You can also call your CHN for self-isolation resources.
To speak with a doctor, you can call the First Nations Virtual Doctor the Day phone line: 1.855.344.3800.
More information on self-isolation:
FNHA's Guide to COVID 19
How to isolate (BCCDC)
How to self-isolate after a COVID-19 test (BCCDC)
5. I tested positive for COVID-19. What do I do now?
If you are not already self-isolating, please do so now. Please see Questions 3 and 4 for further information on self-isolation.
If you test positive:
• You and the people you live with need to self-isolate immediately. Public health will contact you. If you are a health care worker, please notify your employer.
• Monitor your health. If you are concerned about your symptoms, contact your health care provider, or call 8-1-1 or call the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day program (1.855.344.3800)
You can get more information on understanding test results from www.bccdc.ca/results.
For confidential medical advice and support:
• Consider connecting with your CHN if you need confidential support with food, medication or a safe place to self-isolate.
• You can also call the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., seven days a week, for medical advice and further support and information. Call 1-855-344-3800.
6. Will my results be kept confidential?
Your information is kept confidential within your “circle of care." Your circle of care includes health care providers who will have access to your personal information to provide you with care. (For more information about privacy: https://www.fnha.ca/Documents/FNHA-Privacy-and-COVID-19.pdf)
7. Should I let my friends and others in my community know I tested positive?
You are not required to notify anyone other than your household members that you have tested positive. You should notify your household members because they are the ones most at risk of getting ill too. To help keep them safe, make sure you stay in a separate room as much as possible, wear a mask and stay two metres away when you have to be in shared spaces. Pay close attention to cleaning and sanitizing.
Advising other contacts beyond your immediate household is best done after speaking with a contact tracer from Public Health. They may call you within a day or you may have to wait up to a few days.
Not everyone you have been around will need to self-isolate. The contact tracer will carefully assess the time you have been infectious and each person who may have been exposed during that time, making sure that only those people who are actually at risk are asked to self-isolate.
You may want to share your test results with a few close friends or family members that can support you when you are ill. We do not recommend posting your results on social media as this can lead to many people unnecessarily worrying that they may be at risk.
8. Should I tell my Health Director?
You are not obligated to inform your Health Director or anyone other than your household members that you have tested positive.
The FNHA and the Regional Health Authority where you live have procedures to share non-identifiable information with First Nations community leadership. This information will help your leadership make decisions based on numbers of positive cases within the Community. Your information will stay confidential.
9. Where can I get additional help or information about COVID-19?
If you tested positive, see Questions 3, 4 and 5.
For health emergencies requiring immediate medical attention, call 9-1-1. For general health concerns, connect with your primary health care provider, or call 8-1-1 or your local CHN.
For general inquiries, refer to BCCD: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19
Information specific to First Nations people can be found on FNHA.CA: https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/communicable-disease-control/coronavirus/public
To speak with a doctor: Call the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day at 1.885.344.3800. If you are a First Nations citizen or family member of one (even if you are not Indigenous), please phone the First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., seven days a week, for additional information and support.
For information on self-isolation supports: Call the FNHA Medical Isolation Supports Health Benefits (1-888- 305-1505). This number is supported Monday to Sunday from 08:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Download a PDF of this information here.
