Grey Bruce public health strives to contain COVID-19 outbreak at rooming house
The Grey Bruce health unit is taking extra measures to keep a COVID-19 outbreak in Hanover's rooming house.
"A number of people who have a certain lifestyle of using drugs, and that brings an extra challenge," said Dr. Ian Arra, Grey Bruce medical officer of health.
An emergency management team is stationed outside the 10th Street facility in downtown Hanover and trailers and a food truck after the health unit declared an outbreak last week.
Public health urges anyone who visited the building recently to get a COVID-19 test and isolate.
Grey Bruce's medical officer of health, Dr. Ian Arra said they recognize some of the residents are vulnerable and have special needs if they must stay home.
"We have been able to successfully ensure that there is enough support for these disadvantaged individuals to go through appropriate isolation to protect the self and the community from potential spread," Arra explained.
Along with food and clothing, residents are being provided with items they might need, including prescription alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, suboxone treatment for opioid addiction and Wi-Fi.
Security is stationed outside the facility 24/7 to ensure the outbreak is contained.
In a release Friday, the health unit stated, "We hope the public will also recognize these needs must be met as part of a comprehensive harm reduction and infectious disease containment strategy."
Several community partners are working together to help provide all of the support needed over the 14-day isolation period.
Sixteen people in the facility have tested positive for COVID-19, with more than 30 individuals considered high-risk contacts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.