Important: Changes to the Ministry of Long Term Care and Ministry of Health Guidance

Effective Friday, October 14, 2022, there will be changes to the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ministry of Health Guidance documents. The following will explain what will remain the same and what will be changed.

Continuing

• Screening & Rapid Testing: We will continue actively screening and rapid testing everyone entering the home, every time.
• Resident Screening: Daily screening of residents for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 continues. When in outbreak screening increases to twice a day.
• Isolation Period: Remains 10 days at this time for any positive Residents.
• Physical Distancing: Residents, staff, and visitors are encouraged to continue to practice physical distancing and urged to avoid situations like crowded places in which COVID-19 may spread more easily.
• Close Contacts: Residents who are asymptomatic and have had close contact with a positive case do not need to be swabbed.

Changing

• Visitor Masking: Essential Caregivers and General Visitors will be allowed to remove their mask in the residents' room when they are alone with the resident. If staff or a co-resident enters the room, the visitor must put their mask back on. Masks are to be worn in all other areas of the building. The Family Room will be available for use upon request.
• Eating in Resident Rooms: Essential Caregivers and General Visitors will be allowed to remove their mask in the residents' room to eat or drink with the resident. They cannot join the resident to eat a meal in the dining room or outside of the dining room. This will only be permitted in the resident’s room when they are alone. Again, their mask would need to be reapplied if staff or anyone else enter the resident’s room.
• Absences: Residents are able to leave the home for all types of absences, including social day and overnight absences, and not have to be tested or isolated upon their return to the home. Unless they have symptoms of COVID-19 in which case they would be tested and isolated, if positive.
• Close Contact: If residents come into contact with someone with COVID-19: regardless of vaccination status, residents will be monitored, but no longer need to be isolated unless they develop symptoms.
• Admission/Transfers: Testing of asymptomatic residents being admitted or transferred from the community or a facility that is not in outbreak is no longer required.
• Outbreak Definition: The definition of a confirmed outbreak have been updated to two or more residents with COVID-19 with a common link with a 10-day period (no longer includes staff or visitors in the definition).
• Visitor Limit: The provincially set limit of 4 visitors per resident at a time for indoor visits has been lifted. The limit will subject to the space that is available when a resident has visitors to ensure physical distancing is in place.