Public Health is clarifying some of the isolation requirements for people in regards to the new variant of COVID-19.

Some people have been hearing mixed messages, saying they have been told one thing – yet others in similar circumstances have been told something different.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald stresses that people should always follow the guidance that public health officials have given them.

She explains that different cases may require different advice.

She says some of these cases can be very nuanced, and while they may seem similar there are other factors resulting in different advice being given.

She explains that one of the reasons why a family may have to isolate for more time is due to how transmissible the variant is.

If the positive case has no symptoms, they have a mandatory 10-day isolation if symptoms don’t develop. Because they are considered infectious up to and including that 10th day, if there was any contact or shared space with that person the family will have to isolate for and additional 14 days beginning after the initial 10 day quarantine.