Saskatchewan care homes on alert after resident, employee test positive for COVID-19

Saskatchewan health officials declared a novel coronavirus outbreak Friday, in the northern community of La Loche.

It’s the first such outbreak in the province directly connected to a long-term care resident testing positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, a second employee at an Eden Care Home facility in Regina tested positive, and three residents are being monitored for symptoms.

“Obviously these are high risk situations,” said Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

“They are currently being managed with close oversight by public health.”

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Saskatchewan had been relatively successful in preventing the virus from spreading to seniors’ communities, compared to provinces like Ontario and Quebec.

Both eastern provinces report numerous deadly outbreaks in care homes, with some individual facilities reporting close to 30 fatalities each.

“We had time on our side,” said Eden Care Home CEO Alan Stephen. “Our homes have been in lockdown since very early March.”

Further regulations are coming to Saskatchewan care homes to contain the spread, like restricting workers to only one facility. Those come into effect April 28.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Stephen said. “The cross contamination that would take place, takes place in the care partner world … so the more we can restrict that the better.”

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.