By Cecilia Nasmith
Just days after the COVID-19 outbreak at the Golden Plough Lodge was declared over on Jan. 3, the county facility is now in outbreak a second time.
Again, the case identified is a single staff member testing positive, the announcement said, reiterating that Ministry of Health guidelines specify that a long-term-care facility is considered to be “in outbreak” once a single case has been confirmed in a resident or staff member.
As with the initial outbreak, the positive case was identified through the standard process of testing all staff, a process that was increased to weekly intervals as part of the previous outbreak management measures. The employee, who most recently attended the facility on Thursday, Jan. 14, is at home in self-isolation.
“Rigorous infection control continues to be our focus, and staff are working closely with Public Health to ensure stringent preventive measures are in place to keep residents and staff safe,” facility Administrator Bill Detlor said in the press release.
“Our thoughts are with our team member currently at home in self-isolation. Contact tracing has been completed and the risk of exposure in the home is considered low, with no other residents or staff demonstrating symptoms.
“As a precaution, we will again be testing every resident for the virus, and residents will be limited to their quarters to further minimize any opportunity for transmission while the home is considered to be in outbreak.
“We recognize this is distressing news for our residents and families. Staff continue to support residents through this challenging period with enormous compassion and the highest quality of care, and we are optimistic that vaccines will be available to the home in the coming weeks, adding a significant layer of protection to our ongoing defence against this virus.”
The announcement listed some preventive measures in place at the GPL during the pandemic. These include twice-daily screening of residents and staff for symptoms, weekly COVID-19 testing of all staff members, cohorting of residents in their own Resident Home Areas, isolation of any resident experiencing the onset of symptoms (along with implementation of contact precautions for staff), enhanced environmental screening protocols, visitor restrictions and quarantining procedures for packages for residents.
As well, it is mandatory for staff to use appropriate PPE at all times and to adhere to rigourous hand-hygiene practices.
