SUDBURY -- The Porcupine Health Unit announced Wednesday the outbreak at the Extendicare Long Term Care Home in Kapuskasing is now over.

Declared on Jan. 6, 2021, 15 people died at the home after contracting the virus. A total of 70 people were infected.

"The PHU wishes to extend sincere gratitude to the staff at Extendicare, the many community partners and the community members for their assistance and their support during this extremely challenging time," the health unit said in a news release.

"Although this is very positive news, we must not let our guard down. It is very important that we all continue to follow the public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our region and protect our most vulnerable."

Extendicare Kapuskasing said in a news release that no new cases have emerged among residents or staff for the past two weeks.

"We would like to thank all families and friends across our community for your patience, support and understanding as we’ve worked to clear our home of COVID-19," the release said.

"We would also like to thank our dedicated frontline staff and health partner colleagues who have worked tirelessly to help fight this outbreak from day one, while remaining focused on caring for our residents throughout."

Vaccination of residents began earlier this month, but the home said several measures will remain in place for the duration of the pandemic.

"For our residents, it means we will continue to test residents weekly, and all residents will be screened daily on each shift for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19, as has been our practice since the onset of the pandemic," the release said.

"While isolation measures have now lifted, residents are encouraged to continue to adhere to safety practices, including maintaining physical distancing at all times and masking in common areas."

Ongoing education, training and audits will continue on all shifts, Extendicare said, and they will continue to cohort staff, limiting them to only one area to minimize the potential of additional virus spread within the home.

"We will continue to do all we can to protect the people we care for and the staff who support them," the release said.