Outbreak declared at Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub, 11 cases associated

Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub is facing a new challenge, with a number of its clientele testing positive for COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, the hub, which cares for the city’s most vulnerable population, has 11 cases linked to its Montreal Street centre.

According to Gilles Charette, executive director of HARS Kingston, which helps run the hub, this is the first time the centre has had to deal with so many cases at once.

“This is something that has felt distant for a lot of people, and obviously now it’s close to home. So there are some people who are feeling anxiety, understandably,” he said.

He said one person who frequented the centre tested positive for COVID-19 after leaving the city.

Once staff at the care hub got word from public health about the case, the testing began.

“On both of those days, I believe they tested upwards of 80 people,” he said.

2:03 Kingston’s mayor says steps are being taken to address resident concerns living near the Integrated Care Hub

“By Saturday, we had received confirmation from public health that six individuals have tested positive,” Charette said.

Those who have tested positive have been isolated from the rest of the population and will be staying in construction trailers until they are no longer positive for the virus, Charette said.

The outbreak was officially declared Nov. 1.

— With files from Global News’ Alexandra Mazur.