Ontario has implemented temporary safety measures within long-term care homes to further protect residents, staff, and visitors against rising COVID-19 cases and the Omicron variant.
“Our priority is to protect long-term care residents from COVID-19. Faced with rising rates of community infection and the emerging threat of the Omicron variant, we are immediately implementing further measures to protect our most vulnerable based on the best available scientific and medical advice,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of Long-Term Care. “These further measures build on the ones already taken, including mandatory vaccinations, priority for third doses and randomized testing — and will provide the best level of protection possible.”
Since the discovery of the first Omicron variant in Ottawa on November 28, 2021, daily COVID cases have increased rapidly within the province.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore said in a media briefing yesterday the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant and is spreading amongst those fully vaccinated.
He added that data suggests that each Omicron case is infecting four to eight times more individuals than the Delta variant.
The province said COVID-19 cases in long-term cares home have decreased steadily due to safety measures and high vaccination rates.
As of November 30, 2021, 99 per cent of long-term care staff, students, and volunteers are fully vaccinated. In addition, as of December 10, 2021, more than 83 per cent of eligible long-term care home residents have gotten three doses of the vaccine.
The new measures will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, December 17, 2021, but effective immediately, all general visitors to a long-term care home will need to be fully vaccinated to enter.
- Testing of all staff, students, volunteers, and caregivers, regardless of vaccination status, at least twice a week prior to entry into the home as part of enhanced active screening practices.
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Requiring a negative test upon entry to a long-term care home for all visitors and support workers who provide essential services to a resident or to the facility, unless they had a negative test the day before.
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Requiring caregivers to be fully vaccinated, unless they have a valid medical exemption or are attending to a resident in a palliative end-of-life situation. Caregivers will be required to have a first dose by December 20, 2021 and all required doses to be considered fully vaccinated by February 21, 2022. In the interim, designated caregivers who are not fully vaccinated would need to restrict their visit to the resident’s room.
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Limiting indoor visits to a maximum of two people per resident at a time and outdoor visits, where feasible, to a maximum total of four people per resident at a time.
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Cohorting of residents for higher-risk activities, such as singing and dancing, and discouraging large social activities. This is in addition to the cohorting of residents during meal times, which is currently occurring.
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Limiting social day trips to only residents who are fully vaccinated and requiring those residents who leave the home for social reasons to be actively screened upon their return to the home and if they had a known exposure to a case, isolated and tested using a PCR test. All residents, regardless of vaccination status, can continue to leave the home for essential reasons, such as medical appointments.
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Suspending overnight absences for social purposes regardless of residents’ vaccination status. Residents who wish to leave the home overnight for social purposes or due to COVID-19 may be temporarily discharged and need to follow the re-admission protocol to return at a later date.
Those in retirement homes will also undergo additional safety measures starting on December 22, 2021, including:
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Requiring rapid antigen testing for staff, volunteers, contractors and essential caregivers, regardless of vaccination status, two times per week prior to entry into the home as part of enhanced active screening practices.
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Requiring rapid antigen testing for general visitors and support workers entering a retirement home, regardless of vaccination status.
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Strongly encouraging retirement homes to restrict general visitors to only those who are fully vaccinated and implementing additional requirements for essential visitors and general visitors who are not fully vaccinated when entering a retirement home.
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Limiting the number of visitors and group sizes for social activities and events.
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Implementing additional testing and isolation requirements for residents when they return from an overnight absence.
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Instructing retirement homes to increase IPAC audits.