THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is advising residents of changing case and contact management guidelines, as a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant threatens to overwhelm public health capacity.
The health unit said in a statement Tuesday it was in the process of implementing updated guidance from the province on how it reaches out to those who test positive, performs contact tracing, and new isolation guidelines.
Local public health workers will now follow up only with positive cases associated with “higher risk settings” like schools and daycares, hospitals and other health care facilities, and long-term care homes and other congregate living facilities.
Others who test positive will be contacted by someone from the provincial workforce, the health unit said, but warned they could have to wait.
“As cases continue to rise, there may be a delay between the time someone receives a positive result and when they are contacted by the Provincial Workforce or public health,” the health unit stated.
The calls provide guidance to those who are positive on isolation requirements, testing options, and more.
Those who test positive are being asked to identify and inform close contacts themselves, the health unit said in its statement.
The agency issued the following updated guidance in its release Tuesday:
- Individuals who are positive for COVID-19 should immediately self-isolate. They should not wait to be contacted by the Provincial Workforce or public health. They are also asked to tell anyone else in their household to isolate as well, regardless of their vaccination status.
- Individuals who are positive on a rapid antigen test should assume they have COVID-19. They should isolate and have their household members isolate too while they arrange to get tested.
- Individuals who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 should follow the instructions provided by the province. A flow chart is also available with guidance.
- Individuals who have symptoms are being advised to self-isolate, arrange for testing, and advise their household members to isolate as well.
The updated guidelines mean some information on the health unit's website is out of date, the health unit said, adding it is in the process of updating it. Further details will also be provided shortly, it indicated.
The health unit cited a “significant increase” of cases in the statement, saying there was evidence of community spread in Thunder Bay, and “likely” in the Nipigon and Greenstone areas.
The TBDHU’s active case count of 153 on Tuesday was the highest since early April, though still far short of the all-time high of 470 seen in March. Hospital occupancy has so far remained flat, with three people hospitalized with the virus Tuesday, and none in ICU.
Screening results from recent cases “are increasingly showing the pattern of the Omicron variant,” the health unit said.
The rise of the more transmissible variant has sent case numbers soaring, with Ontario announcing a record-high single-day total of 10,412 new cases Saturday.
That's led the province to consider changes to isolation and quarantine rules, as well as how it handles case and contact management.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore postponed a scheduled press conference Tuesday afternoon in which he was expected to announce some of those changes.
Minister of Health Christine Elliot said the province was taking time to review its policies after U.S. health authorities updated their isolation guidelines for many situations from 10 to five days. The U.K. also recently reduced its isolation period from 10 to seven days.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit did not reply Tuesday to a request for comment on this story.
