A staff member working at the Pines Long-Term Care Home has tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member is symptomatic as of this morning and self-isolating at home. The home area where the staff member worked has been declared in outbreak status and as an added precaution, residents this staff member was in contact with have been placed on isolation precautions. The families of the affected residents have now been notified. Testing of all residents in the home area will take place tomorrow. The District and SMDHU are working closely to monitor and respond to the situation.
A deep clean of all resident home areas will be conducted to protect residents and staff, in addition to an increase in daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces. The home remains closed to all visitors, except those at end-of-life. No additional restrictions are required at this time as per the advice of SMDHU. Regular updates will be provided to residents, their families, and staff as more details become available.
“The District remains focused on protecting residents and staff at the Pines Long-Term Care Home from COVID-19,” said Chair Klinck. “We again want to thank all of our staff, residents and families for their dedication, support and patience during these challenging times.”
Proactive and mandatory weekly testing for all staff will be completed this week as scheduled to support early detection, and will continue until further notice from public health experts.
Vaccinations of Residents Could Begin as Early as Friday
While the announcement of a positive staff test is disappointing, we are pleased to report good news related to the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines for residents of the Pines.
“We are preparing to be in a position to start administration of in-home vaccinations for residents at the Pines later this week,” said Kim Landry, Administrator at the Pines Long-Term Care. “Currently 90 Pines Staff are part of the early roll-out of vaccines which are being stored at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie and vaccinations are being provided at an Assessment Centre in Barrie. This staff vaccination program combined with in-home vaccination of residents will significantly boost our efforts to ensure the health and safety of our home, and consequently limit the entrance and spread of the COVID-19 virus at The Pines.”
All Non-Essential Visits to the Pines Long-Term Care Continue to be Suspended
All non-essential visits to the Pines Long-Term Care Home have been suspended effective Saturday, December 26, 2020. The decision to suspend all non-essential visits is intended to support the province-wide shutdown measures. As of December 26, only pre-approved visits with residents who are very ill or requiring end-of-life care are permitted. If you are planning this type of visit, please contact the Charge RN at the Pines Long-Term Care home at 705-645-4488 x 4825 to determine if you can proceed with your visit.
