January 5, 2021

“You never know how or when you’ll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else.” – Denzel Washington

Although it was the holiday season, COVID did not take any time off. I sincerely thank you all at all sites, all staff, and medical staff for continuing your dedicated efforts at keeping our patients and residents safe and secure during the holiday season.

We recognize that anticipation is high regarding vaccinations and staff have ongoing questions. There are a number of factors at play and vaccination planning is currently underway as per the Ontario Vaccine Distribution Implementation Plan as laid out by General Rick Hillier. Our commitment to you is to be transparent and provide answers and updates regarding the vaccination roll-out plans as they become available.

Internal Updates

SJV Outbreak Update

On January 1, 2021, PHSD declared a COVID-19 Outbreak at SJV due to a positive result in a staff member.

We continue to work closely with Public Health Sudbury & Districts to ensure all measures are in place to protect our residents and you. I want to assure you that the risk of infection in our facilities remains low. At this time all residents and other staff remain asymptomatic. We will continue to monitor this situation in cooperation with our medical director Dr. M. St. Martin and the PHSD.

None of the residents who were in contact with our employee are symptomatic and all are being tested. Our residents will continue to be isolated in their individual rooms as necessary.

With the declaration of this outbreak, additional control measures have been put in place and are being overseen by an outbreak management team. These include the following:

• General visits are not permitted.
• Only 1 essential visitor per resident at a time will be allowed to care for their loved one. Please remember that essential visitors require a Covid–19 negative result not older than 7 days to enter the building.
• During visits everyone is required to wear a mask AND eye protection such as goggles or a face shield.
• Non-essential items will not be allowed in the facility.
• Resident leaves of absence are not permitted.
• Residents will not be allowed to leave the property unless it is for an essential medical appointment.
• Residents will be eating their meals in their rooms.
• The café and hair salon are closed.

I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the tremendous work that you are doing in caring for our residents during this challenging time.

Provincial Update

The Province of Ontario remains in Grey Lockdown.

Data Update
As of January 5, 2021, in Ontario, the cumulative total of confirmed cases is 197,360 which is an increase of 3,128 from yesterday – this includes 166,790 resolved cases and 4,730 reported deaths. There are currently 25,840 active cases in Ontario.

Northern Ontario Active Cases

• Algoma Public Health – 28
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit – 18
• Northwestern Health Unit – 19
• Porcupine Health Unit – 10
• Sudbury & Districts Public Health Unit – 23
• Timiskaming Health Unit – 20
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit – 60

At work I ask that you please continue to maintain strict PPE and infection-control vigilance. In our personal lives, we need to ensure that we continually assess and mitigate our risks in the social encounters and activities in which we participate. Please wear your mask, please wash your hands and please limit your contact to those only within your household.

Stay Safe and Stay Healthy!

Additional Resources

Ontario.ca/COVID-19
Public Health Ontario
Sudbury & District Public Health
Covid-19-self-assessment
COVID-19-Assessment-Centre in the Greater City of Sudbury