NEWS RELEASE
WELLINGTON-DUFFERIN-GUELPH PUBLIC HEALTH
****************************
Last week, Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, wrote to owners and operators of long-term care and retirement homes in our region to provide directions to keep residents safe during the second wave of COVID-19. WDG Public Health is working closely with these facilities to reduce the risk of the virus to this vulnerable population.
It is important for the public to know how these requested changes will impact operations of long-term care homes:
• Residents will be restricted to one general visitor and one essential visitor per resident at a time
• There will be fewer trips outside the home for residents and those trips will be focused on medical appointments, compassionate situations and other essential purposes
• Tours of facilities will move from in-person to virtual
• Social activities will be limited to ones where resident safety can be maintained through physical distancing, adhering to infection control measures, enhanced environmental cleaning and face coverings for residents and staff
“Our long-term care and retirement homes are important, supportive environments and we must do all we can to support them,” said Dr. Nicola Mercer. “In providing these new directions, my goal is to protect one of our most vulnerable populations by limiting exposure to COVID-19 as much as possible while ensuring residents can still access essential services in the community, get the care they need from families and caregivers and maintain emotional and physical wellbeing.”
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health continues to provide targeted advice to address the second wave of COVID-19, balancing stopping the spread of the virus with keeping our region as open as possible.
****************************
