'A scary thought': Confirmed COVID-19 case at Northwood causes concern
Long-term care advocates and family members of residents of Northwood in Halifax are expressing concern after a positive case was confirmed at the facility over the weekend.
Greg Sheaves says he wasn’t happy to hear of the positive case at Northwood, where his 85-year-old mother lives.
“Nobody called or notified me, and they said it wasn’t on that floor,” says Sheaves. “Without mandated vaccine, it’s a scary thought.”
Officials at Northwood confirmed Sunday that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 at the long-term care home that was the epicentre of the virus during the first wave of the pandemic.
Northwood CEO Janet Simm says the positive test was identified during the facility’s routine screening, and contact tracing has been completed.
Simm said she was not able to confirm whether the staff member was fully vaccinated due to privacy reasons, but says more than 88 per cent of the facility’s staff are vaccinated.
Nova Scotia’s Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care says as of now, workers at long-term care facilities don’t have to report their status, and neither do visitors, but both could change.
“We are working with a team on a vaccination policy for health care staff in the province of Nova Scotia, and that will be coming out soon,” said Barbara Adams.
One long-term care expert says she would like to see as many workers vaccinated as possible.
“Even if there is a very slight risk of getting the virus, it still reduces the extent of the virus,” says Janice Keefe, chair of the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Keefe says making sure every worker who can be vaccinated gets both shots is important to keep everyone in long-term care facilities safe and avoid any more lockdowns.
“There were so many people important to resident who were shut out from those facilities, and I just don’t ever want that to happen again,” says Keefe, who also serves as the Director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging.
A total of 53 Northwood residents died from the virus last spring, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nova Scotia reported 55 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, 34 of them in the Central zone, leading to a long list of potential exposure locations, including a number of Halifax-area bars and restaurants.
But not everyone is a fan of the continued exposure notices.
“It’s more about the negative image that it could portray of a restaurant that has done nothing wrong, and it’s just unnecessary when we have contact tracing in place,” says Luc Erjavec, Restaurant Canada’s Vice President Atlantic.
Some Halifax establishments say they are already requiring proof of vaccination to dine indoors, two weeks before it becomes mandatory on Oct. 4.
“We are a family restaurant with lots of elderly, and children under the age of 12, so we just want to make sure people feel safe coming here,” says Rose MacDonald, operations manager at the Chicken Burger in Bedford.
As of Monday, Nova Scotia has 129 active cases of COVID-19.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.