Regina long-term care homes limit visitors after increase in COVID-19 cases: SHA
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is limiting family visits at Regina long-term care homes after an increase of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff at seven facilities.
Effective immediately, family presence is now limited to end-of-life care.
The SHA said COVID-19 outbreaks have been confirmed at Extendicare Parkside, Regina Lutheran Home, Pioneer Village and the long-term care unit at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre. Outbreaks are suspected at Santa Maria and Extendicare’s Elmview and Sunset homes.
The SHA was unable to say how many COVID-19 cases are connected to the multiple outbreaks.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Dr. Rashaad Hansia, an SHA physician executive with integrated urban health, said the situation is “in flux” due to ongoing testing and information will be released as it becomes available.
According to the health authority, most of those who have received a positive test are not showing symptoms and have not had to be hospitalized. The SHA did not indicate how many residents have been hospitalized.
The SHA said both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents and staff have been impacted by the outbreaks. Long-term care workers are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, though the SHA said it’s “strongly encouraged.”
OUTBREAK AT EXTENDICARE PARKSIDE
Extendicare Parkside, a long-term care home in Regina that was the site of one of Saskatchewan’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks, is one of the facilities under outbreak protocol following at least two positive cases.
According to a letter sent to families by the Saskatchewan Health Authority on Sunday, staff have increased infection protection and control measures. The SHA said all staff will be required to continuously wear N-95 masks and will continue to be tested ahead of each shift.
The initial outbreak at Parkside in late 2020 triggered an Ombudsman investigation and report.
In her report, Ombudsman Mary McFadyen said 194 of the 198 Parkside residents caught COVID-19 and 39 of them died; 132 Parkside staff members were also infected.
It is not clear exactly how many Parkside residents and staff have tested positive amid the current outbreak. The SHA’s letter to families stated tests “show an increase in the number of COVID positive residents and staff.”
The SHA said some Parkside residents might be relocated to other facilities to provide them with more protection.
Following the release of Ombudsman’s report on Aug. 5, the government appointed the SHA to oversee all five Extendicare care homes in the province for 30 days.
UNION PRESIDENT SAYS THERE’S ‘ANXIOUSNESS’ AMONG STAFF
The president of the union representing the majority of healthcare workers at Extendicare Parkside said this outbreak came as a surprise to the workers.
“My reaction I think is the same as any of the staff or any of the families of the residents -- oh God, not again,” Barbara Cape, president of SEIU West, said. “I think there’s a level of anxiousness among the staff, and certainly among the residents and their families, of, ‘How did this happen again?’”
She said members have experienced enhanced COVID-19 screening, testing and PPE accessibility since the last outbreak.
Cape said there are a lot of questions to figure out, including how the virus came back into the facility and was there something more that could have been done. Cape said workers are looking for some direction and leadership from the SHA and Extendicare.
“Everyone that works at an Extendicare facility has really gone above and beyond to make sure the outbreaks aren’t happening and if they are, they’re caught early,” Cape said.
Cape said healthcare workers are still coping with the effects from the last outbreak.
“[The healthcare workers] have been through an incredibly traumatic situation where they lost their work family members, their residents, in a really traumatic way. Folks are still dealing with the emotional and mental fallout from that event,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'