The Ontario government has released an improved list of COVID-19 measures for long-term care homes in the province that do not include overnight absences and all fully immunized visitors must test negative upon entry.
Previously, all fully vaccinated people were exempt from regular testing; however, beginning December 17, all fully vaccinated staff, students, volunteers, and caregivers will be screened twice weekly.
For those seeking to see a loved one in an Ontario long-term care home, visitors and support workers will be required to test negative upon admission, unless they test negative the day before.
General visitors who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed into long-term care homes, with exceptions for hospice residents and visitors with medical exemptions.
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Long-term care minister Rod Phillips said the indefinite measures are a response to growing COVID-19 infections in the community and the “emerging threat” from the Omicron variant, which is believed to be highly infectious and is on track to soon become dominant in Ontario.
“We need to immediately implement some measures to make sure we are protecting the most vulnerable,” Phillips said in an interview Tuesday. He said the restrictions will eventually be lifted, but will remain as long as deemed necessary to protect people.
“We don’t like to put more restrictions, but they are necessary at the moment.”
In terms of the number of visitors, the province previously left it to individual households, but said that for indoor visits there can only be two visitors, and for outdoor visits up to four visitors, per resident.
Day visits for social purposes were allowed for all residents, but are now only for fully vaccinated residents who will be actively screened upon return.
Meanwhile, evening absences for social reasons are no longer allowed for any resident, regardless of vaccination status.
Symptom detection will also be improved for all admissions and transfers from another healthcare facility. Households will also be instructed to ensure that audits are conducted every two weeks or weekly in the midst of an active outbreak.
A spokeswoman for Phillips said 99 percent of long-term care staff, students and volunteers were fully vaccinated as of Nov. 30, the latest data available. All households that had reported data said that at least 90 percent of workers were fully vaccinated.
Ontario long-term care homes were hit hard by outbreaks, infections and deaths during the pandemic. More than 4,000 residents have died from the disease, more than a third of the total deaths recorded in the province, and more than 15,600 have been infected.
The move comes as the province has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases since the new variant, Omicron, was detected in late November.
– With files from Holly McKenzie-Sutter of The Canadian Press
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