The Huron Perth Public Health Medical Officer of Health says the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 transmissions in long term care facilities in Toronto has raised some concerns in Huron and Perth.
But Doctor Miriam Klassen also points out additional measures have put in place in those areas of higher transmissions and that would also be the response in Huron and Perth.
"I do think that all of the facilities learned a lot from the first wave and they have better processes in place, supplies of personal protective equipment, staff have been trained and we have the universal masking now. I think there are a lot of good measures in place already that weren't there before,"said Klassen. "You don't see as much spread within a facility because of the measures that are always in place now and then, as needed, additional measures could be put in place. And those aren't done lightly, because what we also learned in the first wave is people in facilities, some of them suffered very extreme social isolation."
Doctor Klassen add those additional measures aren't put in place unless they're necessary because another they learned from the first wave is that some of the people in long term care facilities suffered from extreme social isolation when they couldn't have visitors.