Think you have COVID-19 during the Omicron wave? Here's what to do

Nearly two years into the pandemic, most people know what to do when they feel ill to stop the spread of COVID-19. The highly transmissible new variant has thrown some of the old rules for a loop, however.

Omicron appears to spread faster and more easily than its predecessors, even among the vaccinated.

Here's what you need to know if you feel you might have COVID-19 in the age of Omicron.

Of course, public health advice changes rapidly and varies from place to place. When in doubt, call your local public health unit.

The advice varies a bit based on where you live and how overwhelmed test centres are in your area.

Rapid tests are less accurate than their molecular counterparts, so best practice is to confirm the result with a test administered by your local public health unit. But even if you can't get one, you need to protect those around you, said Cynthia Carr, founder and epidemiologist with EPI Research in Winnipeg.

"You still need to go for the gold standard PCR testing," Carr said in an interview Monday.

"If you can't get into a testing centre, don't just continue as normal. Do everything else that you can to stay safe and isolated from others until you can find a testing centre for that confirmation through a PCR test."

In other words, if you can't get in to get a test, consider yourself COVID-positive and isolate until a test becomes available or your isolation period has ended.

You should also consider taking another rapid test to help verify the first one, said Dr. Dalia Hasan, the founder of COVID Test Finders, a group that advocates for the availability of rapid tests.

Again, it depends on where you live and whether tests are available.

A study from the United Kingdom shows the most common symptoms associated with the Omicron variant are the same as the common cold: runny nose, headache, sneezing and sore throat.

"It is really hard for people to know the difference, which is why it is so important to get tested," Carr said.

Ideally, you should book a molecular COVID-19 test with your local public health unit. But that's hard in some areas.