CK Public Health officials say a total of 28 COVID-19 cases are now linked to the institutional outbreak at Fairfield Park in Wallaceburg.
Public health officials released the updated total on their ‘current situation’ page of their website on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Since the outbreak was declared on January 10, 2021, CK Public Health has been working very closely with facility administration at Fairfield on management and control of the outbreak, Jeff Moco, a spokesperson for the Public Health Unit, told the Sydenham Current on Tuesday.
“Other community care partners, particularly CKHA and EMS, have worked with us to provide support to the facility,” he said.
“Ongoing outbreak control measures include the following: isolation of residents to their rooms, cohorting of staff and residents, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting practices, strategic testing of all staff and residents at appropriate intervals, diligent PPE usage by all staff and essential caregivers, cancellation of unnecessary activities throughout the building, and physical distancing, in order to mitigate further transmission.”
Moco added: “Protecting the health and well-being of residents and staff continues to be a top priority for CK Public Health and Fairfield Park.”
On Tuesday, Fairfield Park officials confirmed that 13 residents from Fairfield were diagnosed with COVID-19, along with four staff.
Tracey Maxim, administrator at the home, told the Sydenham Current on Tuesday their staff are following all of the COVID-19 directives of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Ministries of Health and Long-Term Care.
“These steps include isolating residents, vigilant monitoring of residents and staff for symptoms, the use of appropriate protective equipment, and heightened cleaning throughout the home,” she said.
“Our dedicated staff are going above and beyond during this difficult time to ensure our residents’ safety and well-being.”
Officials at the 1934 Dufferin Avenue long-term care home have not released a statement since Tuesday.
These are the first confirmed cases in long-term care home residents in Chatham-Kent since the pandemic began.
“We are working diligently to contain and manage this outbreak,” Dr. David Colby, the Chief Medical officer of health in Chatham-Kent, stated on Monday.
“We have been very successful at preventing such outbreaks but with numbers high in Ontario and time, it was almost inevitable.”
We’ll provide more details when they become available.
