THUNDER BAY — A series of outbreaks declared in the city over the past eight days shows that COVID-19 is still circulating in the community.
From July 10 to Monday, five COVID-related outbreaks were confirmed in different sections of St. Joseph's Hospital and Hogarth Riverview Manor.
Restrictions on admissions, transfers, discharges, social activities and visitation in the affected areas are in place until further notice.
Provincial regulations establish a low threshold for declaring an outbreak.
"A suspect outbreak is one case. Two cases is an actual outbreak. There also has to be an epidemiological link between the two, identifying that there's been spread happening within the facility," said Karen Battigelli, the health unit's manager of infectious disease on Tuesday. "Often, our numbers are not great. We implement low numbers in order to mitigate risk so we can put measures in place to protect those that are at most risk for severe illness."
The headlines in the health unit's recent news releases about outbreaks have not included the word COVID, but have referred to them simply as respiratory outbreaks.
COVID-19, one of a number of viral agents that can cause respiratory outbreaks, is only identified within the body of the news release.
"COVID is just one of them now, especially with the reintroduction of influenza last year, RSV, human metapneumo virus, all the agents that typically cause respiratory outbreaks in congregate living settings in a normal sort of outbreak season," Battigelli said.
The COVID-19 virus isn't necessarily linked to a specific season, as influenza might be, so she said periodic outbreaks will likely occur within the course of the year.
"We're kind of expecting to keep seeing these little ripples that kind of ebb and flow."
According to the health unit, there have been no fatalities connected to the current outbreaks.
"Hopefully it remains that way," Battigelli said. "I think that good vaccination rates keep the severity of the illness at bay."
"Now that masking regulations have changed in some facilities, there are sort of point-of-care assessment pieces. It's important when individuals enter long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals and so on, to screen themselves and be mindful of any symptoms they have have, and to mask up when appropriate."
