Recent COVID-19 outbreaks in long term care facilities have caused health care officials to look at their testing of staff in those homes.
Huron Perth Public Health Medical Officer of Health, Doctor Miriam Klassen, says they currently test staff every two weeks and are considering moving that to every week.
But she also points out that since the testing has been instituted in Huron Perth they've received about twenty positive results in asymptomatic staff.
”Since this has been instituted in Huron Perth, we have received about 20 positive results in a-symptomatic staff and 19 of the times, when they were repeated, the result was negative,” said Klassen.
Doctor Klassen says her point is she does not believe that testing asymptomatic people is not the strongest way of preventing illness from being brought into a long term care home.
“So testing a-symptomatic people, I think, is not the strongest strategy to prevent illness coming into homes. I think the more important measures are really, really rigid screening, all of us staying home when we're sick,” added Klassen.
She adds, in the end, it's up to everyone to do their part of restrict the possibility of community transition so it doesn't get into long term care homes.
She also points out the test is only one tool and a negative test is only valid up to the day it was taken.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases were on the rise Monday in Huron-Perth, Grey-Bruce and Wellington.