As COVID-19 cases soar, Sudbury's health unit issues work-at-home instructions
After reporting 47 new cases on Thursday alone, Public Health Sudbury & Districts is tightening restrictions in the area in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, medical officer of health, issued work-from-home instructions Friday under Ontario's Reopening Ontario Act. They take effect Monday in an area that has seen seven COVID-related deaths in the last five weeks.
The instructions include "strong recommendations to area schools, businesses, and organizations, and implementing stricter protocols for contacts of COVID-19 cases," the health unit said in a news release.
The health unit is also bringing in a voluntary Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) screening of students, in coordination with local school boards.
"This is being rolled out now and in advance of the Holiday season, offering another layer of protection," the release said.
"Other strongly recommended actions also include requiring RAT screening or proof of vaccination for students participating in certain extra-curricular sports, strengthened health and safety measures, and mandatory daily confirmation of symptom screening."
While bringing back other restrictions has slowed the spread, Public Health said more needs to be done to get cases under control. The area is currently among the top three highest COVID-19 rates in the province.
"Case rates remain unacceptably high, threatening health and the health system, in-person learning, and local transition to a reopened community," the health unit said.
They are also enacting stricter measures for the follow-up of contacts of cases of COVID-19.
"Public Health will be tightening up our protocols for contact follow-up such that, in certain circumstances some people even if they are fully immunized, will be required to self-isolate," Sutcliffe said.
"We will also be requiring unvaccinated children to stay at home if they have an unvaccinated family member who was exposed to a case."
Sutcliffe said in the release that while schools and household spread are driving the current surge, everyone is being affected.
“With the widespread circulation of the virus in our community, our response also needs to be widespread, reducing mobility and face-to-face interactions overall," she said.
"This is the purpose of the work-from-home instructions. Further, every sector needs to do their part, voluntarily at this time, to pave the path to lower case rates and reopening.”
Public Health said it is reissuing its call to everyone to continue to limit outings, work from home, get vaccinated, wear a mask and keep two metres distance from those outside your household.
For more information or if you have questions about COVID-19 or vaccinations, click here or call the health unit at 705-522-9200, toll-free 1-866-522-9200.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.