The Government of Canada has announced a temporary special measure for people who have stopped working due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Employment Insurance commission has approved the waiving of the 1 week waiting period for claimants who have been quarantined due to the coronavirus and qualify to receive sickness benefits. However, this measure does not apply to all EI claims. It only applies to sickness claims that are directly affected by the coronavirus and it will only applies to claims that are in effective March 15th, 2020.

You must call 1-833-381-2725 to speak to a service line agent to get your 1 week waiting period waived.

Medical note is not needed for the quarantine period, however a medical note will then be necessary if the sickness elapsed beyond the quarantine period. You will still need a minimum of 600 insurable hours to receive the sickness benefits.

Please ensure to have your employer to indicate code D (illness) under reason for separation in your Record of Employment (ROE).

As a precaution, please contact EI call centre at  1-800-206-7218 for any questions and refrain from visiting your local Service Canada Centre for any emergency situation. The Service Canada centre is not an EI processing office and the agent on site will not be able to assist you for emergency matters.