The Ontario government announced it will be implementing new safety measures at long-term care homes in Ontario to protect vulnerable residents against the increasing threat of the omicron variant. Among the new measures, general visitors who aren’t fully vaccinated won’t be allowed to enter long-term care homes, with exceptions for palliative visits and medical reasons.
Thoughout 2020 and 2021, long-term care homes were hit especially hard by the pandemic, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 4,000 lives and sparking 15,600 infections. According to Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips, the current priority is to protect long-term care residents “using the best scientific and medical advice.”
Announced December 14th, Ontario’s new long-term care home measures include:
- Testing of all fully vaccinated staff, students, volunteers and caregivers two times a week, beginning December 17th. Negative tests will be required on entry, unless a negative test from the previous day is presented.
- Full vaccination requirement for all general visitors to a facility. Caregivers must now have a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 20 and a second dose by Feb. 21 for entry. Outdoor, masked and distanced visits will be permitted for unvaccinated visitors and caregivers.
- The requirement for all fully vaccinated residents to be screened or isolated after day absences, with no overnight absences for social reasons will being allowed.
- PCR testing and enhanced screening for any transfers from another health-care facility that is not in outbreak. Negative PCR tests will be required on arrival and after seven days. Residents will isolate until there is a negative test result.
In an effort to slow community transmission, all individuals aged 50-plus are encouraged to schedule a booster dose appointment effective immediately, with eligibility expanding January 4th to anyone over 18.
Visit the Ontario website for these and other measures to combat the omicron variant.
