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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.