Editor’s note: This article has been changed to reflect the correct the number of businesses forced to close and the nature of the order against Adair Place Retirement Residence.
KFL&A Public Health has so far acted to enforce COVID-19 safety guidelines in seven establishments in the region, a list that includes several nail salons and two retirement homes as of Tuesday afternoon.
The list has grown from one business fined on Sunday to a total of seven businesses on Tuesday.
Four businesses were ordered to close, the first of which was Binh’s Nail Salon, where an initial COVID-19 outbreak was declared last Thursday. The salon is the source of 30 active cases of the disease reported over the last week.
Kingdom Nail Salon was forced to close Sunday because an employee had caught the virus while working at Binh’s.
The third closure was implemented at another nail salon, Kim’s L.A. Nails, but public health has not clarified why the salon was forced to close.
The fourth closure was implemented on June 29 at Georgia’s Nail Salon, after a staff member tested positive for the disease. Moore says the staff member had a link to Binh’s.
Dr. Kieran Moore, medical officer of health for KFL&A Public Health, has asked all clients of Georgia’s Nail Salon between June 12 and 25 to get tested.
He is also asking anyone who visited Amherstview Golf Club between June 22 and 24 to be tested and self-isolate.
Moore added that the risk is low, but he is asking those who visited both establishments to take extreme precautions in order to prevent further spread of the virus.
Adair Place Retirement Residence in Tamworth, Ont., was issued a public health order because, according to public health, it failed to implement requirements of COVID-19 directives under the Long-Term Care Homes Act. The health unit said the retirement home failed to provide an adequate number of handwashing stations for food handlers.
Public health’s website says the order has since been resolved, and that it had mistakenly posted on its website that the home was forced to close, when in fact, it never was.
Country View Care, another retirement home, has received disciplinary action earlier in April from public health but has not been closed down. Public health says the home was in violation of COVID-19 health guidelines laid out by the province. The home says their issue has since been resolved.
Beauty Nails Salon was issued a ticket by public health for not appropriately discarding single-use instruments, but it remains open.
As of Tuesday morning, the Kingston region is at 30 active cases of COVID-19, with 93 cases total and no deaths.