The region’s medical officer of health hopes the region and the province is turning a corner when it comes to long-term care residents becoming infected with the deadly coronavirus.
Since Friday, May 15, there were no additional positive found in long-term care residents in the region.
Friday also marked the final day of universal testing in the province, and the health unit reports there were more than 7,000 tests completed on residents and staff in long-term care homes in the region as well as at five emergency childcare centres.
While not all the results have come back from that universal testing, Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, said things look positive both in the region and in the province.
“I touch wood,” he said. “Things improve because of actions taken … it appears things are improving quite substantially.”
Through the universal testing mandated by the province, the health unit discovered three positive COVID-19 results in residents at Collingwood Nursing Home. All three of the women were asymptomatic when the positive results were reported. Gardner said one woman is now showing signs of respiratory illness.
That was the first time the health unit discovered an outbreak where all those with COVID-19 were not yet showing symptoms of the coronavirus.
However, Friday marked the end of universal testing in the region.
Though there was talk of further testing once the long-term care facilities were complete, Gardner said the health unit will not be continuing with universal testing of residents in retirement homes or other congregate settings such as group homes.
“If the province directs us, we certainly will,” said Gardner.
In the meantime, the health unit is closely monitoring congregate living facilities. If anyone develops symptoms they are tested for COVID-19, and if any cases come back positive, every resident and staff member at the facility will be tested.
As health experts predict COVID-19 will be here for the foreseeable future, Gardner said there’s time now to consider longer-term approaches to control measures such as testing.
“We have to think about how do we continue to operate testing in the future,” said Gardner. “Will it be through assessment centres or through primary care physicians?
"I’m sure our approach is going to change over time, because things don’t stay the same forever. We put together those assessment centres in a rush … now is the time to revise what we do to make it optimal," he said.
Gardner said he’s seen a decrease in the demand for testing on a provincial level. And with the universal testing for long-term care facilities now passed, there will not be the same demand for test results unless the province mandates further universal testing in other sectors or in other congregate settings.
“My understanding … is there hasn’t been a big uptake from the population,” he said. “You’ve got a falling incidence of infection right now. Perhaps the demand in part is related to a reduction in cases themselves.”
Though the demand might be lower right now, Gardner said it’s important to maintain a strong capacity for testing. If cases in Ontario start to increase again as more businesses and sectors of the economy open up, the ability to process tests will be necessary.
He also noted the world, in particular Ontario, would have to deal with this coronavirus until a vaccine is developed and gets widespread distribution.
“Certainly we would want there to be capacity … if that should happen,” said Gardner. "We have to make sure people can get tested ... we have to have the surveillance to know how well we're controlling the pandemic."
In the Simcoe-Muskoka region, there have been 432 cases of COVID-19 confirmed through lab testing. Of those, 303 people have recovered, eight people are in hospital, and 34 people have died.
