How to Build Your Social Circle As we continue our shared fight against COVID-19, social circles are a way of safely expanding the number of people with whom we can come into close contact. Think of your social circle as the people you can hug and touch, or those who can become part of your daily and weekly routines. To create a safe social circle, follow these five simple steps: Step 1: Start with your current circle: the people you live with or who regularly come into your household. Step 2: If your current circle is under 10 people, you can add members to your circle, including another household, family members or friends. Step 3: Get agreement from everyone that they will join the circle. Step 4: Keep your social circle safe. Maintain physical distancing with anyone outside of your circle. Step 5: Be true to your social circle. No one should be part of more than one circle. Visit ontario.ca/socialcircles Catalogue No. (300275) ISBN No. 978-1-4868-4573-6 (PDF) June 2020 © Queen’s Printer for Ontario 2020. Full Details: How to Build Your Social Circle Step 1: Start with your current circle: anyone you live with or who regularly comes into your household. • This may be family members, including children, or your roommates. Be sure to include anyone that would come into regular close contact with the people you live with. This may be another parent to your child(ren) that lives outside the home or a babysitter or caregiver. • Be sure to include anyone in their households as well, if they don’t live with you. You may not see them often, but they would still be considered part of your current circle. Remember that everyone in a household must be part of the same social circle. Step 2: If under 10 people, you can add members to your social circle, including another household, family members or friends. • As you add in additional members, ask yourself whether they live with or come into regular close contact with anyone else. You may never see them, but they would still be considered part of your social circle. • If you live alone, you may want to start with family members or other close friends. • Also ask yourself what makes most sense for you and your household. That could include another household with similarly-aged children or family members that you want to spend more time with. Friends who live alone or with a few roommates can also form a social circle. • Individuals at higher risk, including those over 70, and individuals with compromised immune systems and/or underlying medical conditions, can participate in a social circle depending on their unique circumstances. Remember that your social circle can start with fewer than 10 people. It’s always best to start slow and safely add more members later. Step 3: Get agreement from everyone that they will join the social circle. That means they agree to only join one circle, and physically distance with anyone outside the circle • Essential workers like frontline health care workers, first responders, retail workers and transit operators can still be part of a social circle, so long as the other members are aware of the risks and agree to them. Visit ontario.ca/socialcircles Catalogue No. (300275) ISBN No. 978-1-4868-4573-6 (PDF) June 2020 © Queen’s Printer for Ontario 2020. Step 4: Keep your social circle safe. • Continue to follow public health advice, including frequent hand washing and sneezing and coughing into a sleeve. You should continue to physically distance with anyone outside your circle by keeping two metres or six feet apart from them. • If anyone in your social circle is feeling sick, they should immediately self-isolate at home and not come into close contact with anyone, including other members of the circle. • They can find an assessment centre at ontario.ca/coronavirus to get tested for COVID-19. • Everyone else in the circle should closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. If you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19 you should also be tested. Step 5: Be true to your social circle. • No one should be part of more than one circle. Visit ontario.ca/socialcircles Catalogue No. (300275) ISBN No. 978-1-4868-4573-6 (PDF) June 2020 © Queen’s Printer for Ontario 2020.